Get stuck in and forget respect

MATT DERBYSHIRE . . . “No option but to get in Tranmere’s faces.”

MATT Derbyshire has called on Athletic to stop showing their opponents an “incomprehensible” amount of respect — starting with high-flying Tranmere on Saturday.

The on-loan Nottingham Forest striker could not disguise his frustration at the one-paced performance he and his team-mates produced in the 2-1 loss to Bury.

And he believes the only way to get the better of Ronnie Moore’s promotion hopefuls at Boundary Park is to get in their faces from the first whistle.

“We are sometimes guilty of showing teams too much respect and that was most definitely the case against Bury.

“On paper we have much better players and a much better team than Bury, and they have struggled all season. Yet we afforded them so much respect and sat off for the first 25 minutes. It is incomprehensible.

“In a way it probably helps that we are up against such a good side this weekend because we will have no option but to hustle them and get in their faces. But that is what we should have done against Bury”

He added: “One positive result on Saturday puts a different complexion on it as we can climb the league table. We all want to be involved and make up for the Bury defeat.”