Richie Wellens used his pre-Crawley press conference to praise his experienced pros, especially in-form striker Marc Richards.
The 37-year-old forward has scored two in three and started to recreate the form that he showed when he first joined. His goals against Macclesfield and Tranmere proved pivotal in both games decided by a single goal.
Wellens will be hoping his frontman can bring those goals back to the County Ground almost exactly a year to the day since his dramatic brace on his home debut against Crewe.
“Marc Richards has come in and done brilliantly – he’s scored two in three and been a real focal point for our attacks. He’s great in the dressing room – he digs people out which means I don’t have to. I always think it means more coming from a team-mate, but he does it in the right way. He’s constructive not aggressive.
“We know what Marc’s strengths are – his hold-up play is brilliant and so is his movement in the box; i.e, his goal against Tranmere. His movement is good, he gets across the defender and scores.
We’ve actually been looking for we’ve already got. His fitness is a massive plus for us.”
Richards is part of a minority of experienced players in the Town dressing room, but Wellens placed extra importance on their know-how.
“We’ve got a good bunch of lads who want to learn and improve and they know that I’m here to benefit their careers both as a team and as individuals. It’s quite an easy group to run but I like the experienced players to run the dressing room.
“The likes of Marc Richards, Matty Taylor and Luke McCormick are massively important because you trust them and they’ll put people in their place when the time is right.”
