After returning to the starting XI against Lincoln, James Dunne said that the rotation of the squad in midfield helped over the Christmas period.
Dunne was rested for the trips to Mansfield and Macclesfield as well as the home loss to Exeter but came on against the Silkmen and was excellent in the middle of the park.
Dunne believes the competition for places has been good for the team as well as providing much-needed rest.
“Against Newport, I think, I didn’t play too well – Jak came on and did well in my position. I came back in against Macclesfield just after half-time, and felt good, refreshed and ready to go.
“We’ve got some very good midfield players – Doughts, Smudge (Martin Smith), Toums. Great centre midfielders sitting on the bench so it just shows you’ve got to be on your game. If you’re not, someone comes in. Doughts, for example, on Saturday – comes on, scores two goals, gets us back in the game and gives us that lift.
“Competition for places is good – if you don’t have it, you can get a bit ‘well, I’m playing next week’.”
Dunne was quizzed on the character of the squad, based on recent late rallies and the midfielder praised the new boys settling in but also the team’s fitness.
The Gaffer’s brought in Canice (Carroll), Ali (Koiki) and Housey (Ben House) and they’ve settled in with the boys really well – they’ve been brilliant.
We’ve had a few late results but I think it shows how fit we are, being able to go to the end. A lot of what the Gaffer does is about getting across what he wants, positional play and play-throughs, but we’re quite a fit squad anyway so there’s not a lot of that sort of thing (purely fitness) but the training we do is done at a high-intensity.
On this weekend’s fixture at Prenton Park, the 29-year-old said their opponent’s mini-blip looks to be over.
“It’s a good stadium to play at – they’re doing alright. They came off the boil a bit when they found out they had Tottenham in the FA Cup but that’s over now so they’ll be looking to get back to pushing up the league, same as we are.”
