We mustn’t stutter against Stanley

Feb 8 2008 by David Triggs, Chester Chronicle

JOHN Murphy has urged his Blues teammates not to undo all their good work by turning in a lacklustre home performance against Accrington Stanley tomorrow

The mood in the City camp was lifted by last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Chesterfield – only the second point Bobby Williamson’s men have picked up since Christmas.

Looking much more solid in all departments, the visitors fully deserved a share of the spoils. And with lowly Accrington due at the Deva tomorrow, Murphy knows Chester can’t afford to take a backward step.

The striker, who netted City’s equalising goal at Saltergate, said: “The Chesterfield performance was the best we’ve played for I don’t know how long – December probably. You’re looking at six weeks.

“All we’ve got to do it kick on from here. We’ve got to go out against Accrington and make sure we back this up with another good performance. It doesn’t mean that much if we go out and put in a bad performance and get beat.”

Chester have lost eight of their 15 home matches in League Two this season, with their comfortable mid-table position coming by virtue of an excellent away record.

Murphy, who missed most of City’s miserable run through January due to injury, reckons the players owe the Deva faithful a victory.

“The lads are desperate to put a performance on for the home fans,” he said. “Nearly all season we’ve been pretty poor at home. It’s only been in the Shrewsbury and Dagenham games where we’ve given them something to shout about. Hopefully we can start the game well, push on from there and give the fans a good win.”

With three games under his belt since returning to full fitness, Murphy has brought some much-needed physical presence back to Chester’s attack.

The tall striker is also enjoying his blossoming partnership with Craig Lindfield, the teenage forward signed on loan from Liverpool last month.

“He’s brilliant. He’s got energy to burn and I wish I had a bit of that,” joked Murphy. “He puts defenders under pressure, he works hard, he works back and he’s good going forward. “He’s not at Liverpool for nothing. He’s obviously a good player and it’s good to have him here.”

Murphy can’t explain why Chester’s form nose-dived so alarmingly after Christmas, but he’s refusing to dwell on that unhappy period.

The former Blackpool marksman said: “All teams go through these runs. You’d like to put your finger on it but we just hope that’s our run over with now and we can go through to the end of the season putting a good consistent string of results together.”

Chester hit the road on Tuesday for a trip to Dagenham and Redbridge.