Still on a high

ROBBIE Simpson insists confidence hasn’t been knocked by last weekend’s defeat against promotion-chasing Sheffield United — the first league reverse of caretaker boss Tony Philliskirk’s current reign.

The Blades prevailed thanks to some questionable refereeing and by punishing some Athletic defensive errors, but the forward man believes this weekend’s trip to sixth-placed Tranmere shouldn’t be feared.

He said: “There’s not a lot of difference between the top teams and those at the bottom.

“All the players have felt that way since the beginning of the season.

“Anyone can beat anyone, we’ve seen that — it’s just unfortunate we’ve ended up in the relegation battle.

“We have picked up, though. We’ve had a good run run in the FA Cup, too, so everyone’s still full of confidence.

“We’ll go into the Tranmere game on something of a confidence-high, though we know we’ll need everything we’ve got to beat them.

“They are struggling a little bit at present after a brilliant start to the season.

“It was unbelievable from them early doors, and I don’t think even they expected it to be honest.

“They’ve managed to hang in there and they’re still in the play-off positions, but I don’t think they’re any better than us.

“If we’re at our best I’m confident we can get a result.”

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