Martin Allen believes that Barnet still have plenty to play for, despite being safely in mid-table following their 1-1 draw with Exeter City. 

Speaking after the match, Martin said:

“Every game we play is a hard fought game, and every week is a challenge. 

“We had two full debuts this afternoon, so I’d say that today is a great day for the club. 

“Both 18-year-olds – Harry Taylor and Justin Nwogu – were making their full debuts, and they both did really well.

“Then we had another 18-year-old come onto the pitch in Fumnaya Shomotun, and he did really well too.

“We also had Michael Gash back after three months, so that’s another big bonus for today.

“Perhaps we could have won it with the penalty, and Exeter had another couple of chances where they could perhaps have nicked it. 

“But overall, I’d say it’s a good day for our club. 

“We have still got a huge amount to play for, in contrast to what people might think.

“I want to win every game that we play.

“I feel that we owe it to our supporters and our club to be positive with everything that I do. 

“Whether that’s planning and long term development, or introducing some of our young players. 

“I think that all the supporters who made the journey down here today will be delighted with how they’ve played and how the team have played.

“Exeter are on a good run of form at the moment, so it was always going to be a challenging and difficult game. 

“But we’ve got so much to play for and to work for, in every match that we play. 

“That mental attitude of ‘oh we’re mid-table Tommys’ – that’s not the case here. “

The Barnet manager also discussed the injury to Elliott Johnson in the first half, saying:

“Elliott hurt his shoulder in the last game, but he trained ok a couple of days ago so I thought he was alright. 

“But I don’t think he was quite right – he was struggling with it and he was a little bit tentative with it. 

“Elliott wanted to play, we did a fitness test, but perhaps it’s a mistake on my part and I should have held him back until Monday. 

 

“But I wanted him to play – Elliott’s a good player and I want him in our team.”