Adkins looks at bigger picture

18th March 2010

Scunthorpe boss Nigel Adkins admitted the forthcoming home clashes with fellow basement-boys Plymouth and Peterborough were always the priority after his side slipped to a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle.

Striker Andy Carroll, who Adkins tried to sign on loan earlier in his career, set the ball rolling with just 10 minutes gone with a bullet header before Peter Lovenkrands added a second with a deft 22nd-minute finish from Wayne Routledge's throughball.

Iron keeper Joe Murphy gave the visitors a glimmer of hope with a point-blank block from Lovenkrands five minutes later but he was beaten for a third time 10 minutes after the break when Carroll lifted a shot over him after running on to Danny Guthrie's long ball.

"That's a Premier League side, end of story, so we don't need to get too disillusioned about the result because that is a Premier League side and a very, very good one," said Adkins.

"We play Plymouth at home on Saturday followed by Peterborough at home on the Tuesday and we have got to look at the big picture. The big picture is making sure we stay in the division."