Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth has insisted that he is ‘proud’ of where the Chairboys currently air in the table despite his side’s sticky start to the season.
The Adams Park club are in 17th place in the League One table after losing five of their opening 10 games of this domestic season.
This includes falling to back-to-back defeats against Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday respectively in the previous two weeks.
But when Garath McCleary is back from suspension and the likes of D’Mani Mellor and Brandon Hanlan are expected to return soon, the 49-year-old believes that there is still plenty of time for Wanderers to recover and push for a promotion spot come May.
Saturday at Adams Park: #Chairboys vs #PAFC!
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) September 29, 2022
Book your place at https://t.co/L8vpuGV6G0.#WYCvPLY
Speaking to the press ahead of this weekend’s match against Plymouth Argyle at Adams Park, he said: “We have been here before.
“March this year, everyone was saying that we were done for the season and that the wheels had come off after our winless run, but we ended up at Wembley final in May.
“So, we just need to stay patient as one or two games do not make a season.
“I’m proud of where we are.
“We’re Wycombe Wanderers, we’re six points off the play-offs with two-thirds of the league to play still.
“It’s not a bad place to be as we’ve been in much, much worse.”
Gareth Ainsworth with the press: "We've had a rough time with injuries and some performances that haven't reached our standards, but we'll climb this table. We need to be sure that the XI that start against Plymouth are right on it from the very start."#WYCvPLY
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) September 29, 2022
The visit of top-of-the-table Plymouth could potentially be the worst fixture for the Chairboys to have at this present moment, but they do boast a very good record over the Devon-based club.
Wanderers are unbeaten in their last seven games against the Pilgrims, in which they won four and drawn three.
This includes defeating the club in their last three games with an aggregate score of 6-0.
He continued: “I’m super confident as it has been proven that anyone could beat anyone in this league.
“We want to be competitive against them.
READ MORE: Ali Al-Hamadi bags a brace as Wycombe defeat Championship U23 side in practice match
“We have had some serious injuries and we need to make sure that without our key players we still need to perform due to the standard of our squad depth, but some squads are very big and deep.
Cut, and take two.
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) September 28, 2022
Our tributes to the legendary broadcaster Bill Turnbull - scheduled for the Port Vale fixture - will now take place on Saturday.
Please join us for a toast to Bill in the Caledonian Suite, and a minute's applause before kick-off. #WYCvPLY
“Ours is getting better, and I think it has been shown in recent weeks that the players we have missed have been super important.
“Also, if you take two of the best Sheffield Wednesday players out the team, or two of the best Derby players out of the team, there would be a totally different outcome.
Finally, on McCleary’s return to the side, he concluded: “Garath is a hell of a player and it’s important that we use him in the right way and it’s great to have him back at the weekend.”
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