Michael Duff remains grounded following in-form Cheltenham’s winning run

Posted Sunday, September 22, 2019 by PA

Michael Duff vowed to keep his feet on the ground as Sky Bet League Two surprise package Cheltenham made it four wins in a row to stay third following a 2-0 victory at Plymouth.

Striker Luke Varney headed Cheltenham’s 40th-minute far-post opener against the run of play on a well-crafted counter-attack.

Midfielder Ryan Broom’s stoppage-time close-range shot was redirected past home goalkeeper Alex Palmer by central defender Will Aimson.

Robins boss Duff said: “I think it’s fair to say that no one saw this run coming but we’ll see where it takes us. We are not making anything of it.

“The mantra has stayed the same ‘just win the next game’ and it was the same last season when I came in and we were in the bottom two.

“Just because we are in the top three now it doesn’t change. It’s just as important as it ever was – ‘win the next game’.

“I am not really interested in what other people say about us.

“It’s great when they are saying nice things about you but again, it’s like last season when they weren’t saying such great things about us: it’s outside noise.

“We need to concentrate on what’s going on in our camp and the only people who can influence that is our staff and our players.

“The thing we didn’t do first half well enough was move the ball. We turned the ball over too cheaply.

“In the second half we were much better. We stuck at it. You can’t always be good and we weren’t good first half and we won so that is a positive sign for me. It wasn’t a smash and grab, we have hit the crossbar twice and scored two good goals.”

Frustrated Argyle boss Ryan Lowe said: “We have got to score. If you don’t score, you don’t win.

“What I don’t want to become is just a possession-based team that doesn’t win.

“It’s not going to happen. We have got to score goals at one end and keep them out at the other.

“I said the other night we could have had plenty of goals at Crawley and last Saturday at Port Vale, we haven’t and we’ve lost at Port Vale and we’ve drawn at Crawley.

“Now we’ve lost today at Home Park which is more disappointing.

“We wanted to make it a fortress but that little bit of record of not losing at home (in the league) has gone.

“I need to put it right, quickly. We had 22 shots today and eight of them were on target. They had two and scored two.

“The second one is an own goal, the first one is disappointing in where it has come from.

“We’re disappointed in the way we are conceding goals when we know they are avoidable but me – as a former striker – I am disappointed we are not scoring.”