Midfielder glad to be back on the pitch again
Burton Albion midfielder Matty Palmer was pleased to be back on the field again for the Brewers after a seven game absence and admitted that although it wasnt pretty, Albion's victory at Hartlepool United was a good three points, particularly as combined with results elsewhere it helped the team back to the top of the Skybet League 2 table."Everyone is buzzing and we have come here and got the three points that we wanted." said Matty, "I think it is a very important result because its a difficult place to come. It is a tough pitch to play on and the crowd got behind them but I thought that we dealt with it well and it is a good three points. I dont think we were ever going to be able to pass it as we wanted to with the wind and the pitch the way it was but we ground it out and it is a big three points."
Hartlepool are scrapping for their lives at the bottom of the League and were never going to be easy opposition having won five out of six home games since the turn of the year in their attempts to escape the clutches of relegation to the Conference but Palmer felt that even as the game ticked into its final minutes there was still a confidence that Albion could come up with a goal to potentially have a significant impact on both teams season saying:
"There werent many chances but with the players that we have got in our team we always believe that we can get at least one goal and I think that if we keep going like we did today until the 90th minute then we will always score a goal."
Competition for midfield places is hotting up with Palmer returning to fitness and with loan signing Florent Cuvelier scoring on his debut players are coming back to fitness and challenging for places in the team at just the right time and Matty know what he has to do if he is to stake a claim for a regular place in the team now.
"It was a great goal for him [Florent Cuvelier]." Matty went on, "He has come into the side and done really well. There are a few who have come back into the group over the last week or so, like Jimmy Phillips, and the squad is looking strong."
"Watching the games is really hard from the sidelines. It is just nice to be back out there producing things and hopefully helping the team out. The objective for me is to keep playing well and putting my name in the hat for the left wing or right wing position and hopefully I have done that today."
Having bounced back from successive defeats and found themselves back at the top of the League 2 table things must be looking up for the Brewers but Palmer knows that they need to concentrate on the only thing they can influence - their own results.
"It gives us confidence but we are not really looking at anybody else." he continued, "We have got to just take care of our own results and hopefully come the end of the season everything else will take care of itself. Today we had to grind out the result and were maybe worthy winners and deserving of the three points."
"The fans were great today. Its a long way to come and we are really pleased to get the result and three points for them and that means we can all go home happy."
Prior to his injury Palmer had been used by manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on the left wing having started the season in centre midfield under Gary Rowett but the former Derby youngster is happy to play wherever he is asked to and hopes that his spell out of the side may actually see him back fresher and ready for the end of the season run-in which looks as if it is going to be so crucial.
"The gaffer has thought that I am more effective out wide which I am happy to do. I will play wherever he wants me to and I was starting to play well out there when I got injured to it came at a bad time for me but now I am back in the team and I want to get back to the level of performances I was at before and stay in the team for the rest of the season. I felt fit and strong out there today although obviously your match fitness isnt going to be there but you feel a bit fresher with having had a bit of a break."