Sunday, November 17, 2024

Wycombe must stay ‘relentless’ – Bloomfield

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Matt Bloomfield was appointed Wycombe boss in February 2023 [Rex Features]

Wycombe Wanderers boss Matt Bloomfield wants his side to stay “relentless” as they resume their League One campaign against Peterborough United.

The Chairboys are currently fifth in the table and have not lost in the league since a 3-2 home defeat by current leaders Birmingham City in mid August.

“We’ve zoomed out a little bit and had an overview of the season,” Bloomfield said, about how they have spent their non-playing time during the international break.

“[We’ve looked at] what’s been good for us, what do we need to continue to improve on?

“While there’s a good buzz about the place, no-one’s getting above their station, there’s a lot of hard work to come and a lot of improvement we want to make.”

After losing their first two League One games of the season, Wycombe have rallied excellently by winning five of the next seven. Their only defeat over the last 10 matches, in all competitions, was to Premier League Aston Villa in the League Cup.

Victory over Posh could lift Bloomfield’s side into the top three after 10 games but he is not worried about table positions at the moment.

“In isolation, it’s an exciting home game against extremely good opposition who play with a lovely philosophy,” he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

“I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Darren [Ferguson, Peterborough boss] and the way they play.

“But then we move on to Burton and Leyton Orient – there isn’t much time to take a breath.

“I don’t really look at the table – I just want us to be the best we can be. We just need to keep being focussed and keep being relentless.”

Bloomfield does sound a note of caution on how they react to the “lovely things” a number of opposition managers – including Ferguson – have said about Wycombe’s attempts to grow a more possession-based, attacking style.

“What I do know about football is that pride comes before a fall and we need to retain our focus and humility. We’ve done nothing yet,” he added.

“My desire is to stay here for a long time evolving the club into the best it can be.”

The last time Wycombe played Peterborough was the Bristol Street Motors Trophy final at Wembley in April – a game Posh won 2-1 in dramatic fashion.

The Chairboys were unbeaten over the two league meetings – drawing on the road last October before a thumping 5-2 win at home in February.

There has never been a goalless draw in the 34 games between the sides and Bloomfield is expecting another entertaining afternoon at Adams Park.

“I think we played three really good games against Peterborough last season and our performance in the 2-2 draw away from home was one of our better ones over the course of the season,” he said.

“There’s been an evolution in both sides. We knew their threats and respect them but we’re also keen on what we do and want to make sure we bring that.

“They’ve got some incredible attacking players but so have we and want to impose them on the game as quickly as we can.”

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