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East Lancs News, East Sport

Stanley midfielder Sadou Diallo previews tomorrow night’s trip to face Shrewsbury Town. Having not had a game over the weekend, Accrington Stanley midfielder Sadou Diallo admits that it’s highly important to secure all three points away at Shrewsbury Town tomorrow night.

The Reds had been scheduled to play Bury last Saturday, but Diallo admits that all he and the rest of the squad can do is remain professional and keep training as they usually would. “Sometimes you don’t really want to have time off during the season, especially after a win.

“We’ve got to be professional though and we’ve got to go into tomorrow night’s game as we would do for any other. “If you have days off you don’t really train as a team, but we’ve had to make sure that we’re professional and do the right things. “If you need to do some gym work or do some running, then you’ve got to make sure that you do it in order to be ready for the next game.”

John Coleman’s side secured a 2-1 victory over AFC Wimbledon in their last time out, and Diallo wants to take that winning momentum into tomorrow night’s fixture at Montgomery Waters Meadow. “We’ve got to take the momentum from the win over Wimbledon into the game tomorrow night.
“We’ve got to ensure that we’re going into every game wanting to win and we’ve always got to be thinking about securing the three points.” Diallo has been operating in a more attacking role in recent games, and the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee admits that he is enjoying his new role within the team. “I’m playing in a different role right now, but I’m just happy to be out on the pitch in whatever role the manager wants me to play.

“I’ve already gained a lot of experience during my loan spell with the club, so hopefully that can continue and I can keep learning more about the game.

“I’ve enjoyed playing further up the pitch because it’s allowing me the opportunity to have more chances in front of goal.” The 21-year-old also explained how he is enjoying being involved in creating chances as part of an attacking and exciting front four, along with Jordan Clark, Joe Pritchard and Dion Charles.

“We’re all on the same wavelength and we’re all excited to play.
“We saw glimpses of what we’ve got in our lockers in the build-up to Dion’s goal against Wimbledon, so hopefully we’ve got more of that to offer in the upcoming games.” Following Benny Ashley-Seal’s arrival on loan from Wolves on transfer deadline day, Diallo is looking forward to being able to play alongside his friend again at the Wham Stadium. “I played with him a lot last year so I know what his game is like and I’m just excited to play alongside him again.

“He’s a good player and he’ll also make you a better player, so I’m excited for the fans to see him play.” The Reds now have two games in five days and the midfielder is hoping that they can secure maximum points from the games against Shrewsbury and Lincoln City.

“With not having a game over the weekend, we just want to get the three points tomorrow night and then move onto the next game. “We’ve got two games in five days now, so we’ve got to be aiming to secure maximum points and hopefully we can do just that.”

East Lancs News, East Sport

Defender looking to kick on after helping revive Clarets’ fortunes. Matt Lowton is aiming for a big finish when the Clarets get back to Premier League duty. Sean Dyche’s men have dug deep to transform their fortunes in a superb three-match unbeaten run.

After slipping down the table on the back of a four-match losing streak post-Christmas, Burnley have bounced back to beat Leicester City and Manchester United and take a first point from Arsenal in 11 attempts. And after the chance to re-charge their batteries in the Premier League’s first winter break, Lowton will be looking to pick up where he and his team-mates have left off.

“They’re three tough games we’ve just played and we’ve got the points there so we are all buzzing,” said the Clarets’ defender, who has bounced back himself after a tough time either side of the festive programme.“It’s a nice break now to get the legs rested and then we’ll be looking to finish the season off strong.

“We have put ourselves in a great position and we will keep building to put points on the board and try and finish as high as we can.” Lowton helped the Clarets keep a second successive clean sheet as he bagged the man-of-the-match honours in Sunday’s 0-0 draw with the Gunners.

And with 13 games to go, Dyche’s side have lifted themselves back up to 11th place in the table – seven points clear of the drop zone – by playing some of their best football of the season. “I thought the performance was bang-on,” Lowton added after Arsenal were left hanging on at a buoyant Turf Moor. “We didn’t quite get the finishes we needed to get three points.

“But as long as the performances are there and we keep building. “The last three games have been tough on paper and we’ve come out with seven points, so we’re going in the right direction. “Three games ago we were looking over our shoulders with three tough games coming up. “But it shows the character and the squad depth we’ve got to come away with seven points from those three games and now we’re looking to build on it.”

East Lancs News, East Sport

Rovers can confirm the departures of our two longest serving players – Jess Holbrook and Alex Taylor. Holbrook, 27, made 165 appearances in blue and white after joining from Manchester City, scoring 37 times from the middle of the park. The former England Youth international scored Rovers’ 100th goal of the 2016-17 campaign before being named Managers’ Player of the Season the following season.

And last season, the midfielder was named Rovers’ Ladies Footballer of the Year, as well as picking up both Managers’ Player and Players’ Player of the Season at Rovers Ladies’ End of Season Awards. She had made 14 appearances this campaign, with two assists in Rovers’ first Championship season.

Taylor racked up 158 games in six seasons for the Blues, netting 21 goals in the process. She was Rovers’ Players’ Player of the Season in 2017/18 and picked up the Goal of the Season Award the previous campaign. Known as a utility player, she played in almost every position for the club, with a record-breaking three-minute hat-trick after coming off the bench at home to Middlesbrough in 2018-19.

The 24-year-old played 12 times this season, scoring a goal of the season contender at Villa Park back in September. We would like to wish both players well for the future.