Skipper praises Spartans battling mentality

Spartans skipper Wayne Buchanan took the positives from his side's FA Cup exit at the hands of Workington and felt that his side had shown they were up for a battle despite being hit by some bad luck over the last two weeks. Buchanan was named Spartans Man of the Match for a solid display in the middle of the defence and felt his side can take some pride in the improvement from the poor show at Witton Albion in the FA Trophy just forty eight hours earlier. He said "Me and Tom(Berj) have been talking and you have to stay positive. We all battled and battled hard tonight with a depleted squad. We all mucked in and pulled together and that's the way you have to do things. If you aren't having a great time personally at the very least you do the job for the team and work hard."

The former Bolton Wanderers man was keen for Spartans to move on from two cup exits over the weekend and look to the future as soon as possible. He said "The way we have to think is whilst we would love to be in both cup competitions we haven't lost any ground in the league and take a bit of heart from tonight and the fact the boys stuck at it and worked hard for each other. Things weren't going well but we kept going to the final whistle and Craig(Farrell) was unlucky to not take it into extra time. On another day that would go in. The league is the main thing and yes, the FA Cup is important but the main objective is to get this club back into the Blue Square North".

Young winger Jake Turnbull made only his second Spartans appearance as he replaced fellow wideman Lee Mason during the first half and Buchanan praised the former Bedlington Terriers man but also gave the youngster some advice. He commented "I've just had a word with young Jake and he's come in tonight and shown flashes of what he can do tonight. He has to believe in himself more though, you see him in training and he can do things that other players can't. He is a good player and just needs to demand the ball more, nobody will have a go at him for wanting the ball and demanding it. It shows confidence and it will come with age. I think he has maybe shown Tommy that he can come in and do a job"