Amond: It’s been frustrating but now I want to kick on

After his 11 goals in 2013-2014 saw him scoop the golden boot award the 26-year-old Irishman has been in and out of the side.

But the former Accrington man hopes his late equaliser at Stevenage will be just what’s needed to secure a run of games and goals.

“It’s been very frustrating,” said Amond. 
“I started well but haven’t played as much as I’d maybe like to have played.

“The other lads have come in and done well.

“I scored a couple of goals early on and was just frustrated because I couldn’t seem to get going. 
“It was stop-start. I was in for one, out for one, in for two, out for two, but hopefully the weekend was a good kick-start for me.”

There is plenty of competition in the forward places with Jim Bentley having a host of strikers to fit into his system.

“It goes game by game,” said Amond.

“Your reputation’s not going to get you a game I don’t think the gaffer’s like that.

“If you don’t put a performance in when you’re on the pitch then you’re not going to play the following week.

“It’s as simple as that. Whenever I next play I’ve got to make sure I do well enough to keep my place.”

The Stevenage game came just a day after the popular striker returned from an ankle injury with Amond admitting he was more prepared for 15 or 20 minutes off the bench rather than the hour he got after Jack Redshaw hobbled off.

“The gaffer asked me the day before the game if I was ready for a little bit of action and I said yes thinking it would be 15 or 20 minutes,”

“But then when Jack went down after half an hour I got a little bit worried.

“I lasted well though. The thing I was most worried about was half-time so I didn’t sit down in the dressing room and kept moving around and went out early for the second half.

“Thankfully I got the equaliser late on.”

Amond’s bid to kick on has been halted slightly by the fact the Shrimps are without a game on Saturday on FA Cup second round weekend.

“It is a little bit frustrating personally,” he said.

“Not being in the FA Cup is a big blow for us this weekend but we didn’t cover ourselves in glory at Dover.

“It’s probably good in a way because of numbers but we were laughing and joking because we had maybe 16 players fit for last weekend and the next game there’s probably going to be 23 or 24 so there’s going to be lads struggling to get on the bench when we couldn’t fill it last week.”

The ample squad will be available for what is set to be a big game against Luton, with the League 2 high-fliers hoping to keep up the pressure at the top.

The Shrimps, four points outside the play-offs, will have ideas of their own however.

“It’s a very big game,” said Amond.

“They’re in great form and are a really big club traditionally.

“They want to go back to where they think they should be and it’s up to us to put a dent in their ambitions and kick us on to where we think we can be.

“We have the players to mount a good challenge whether it be play-offs or automatic, you never know.

“I can understand the frustration amongst some of the fans after the start we made but maybe that led to some unrealistic expectations. 
“But 19 games in and four points off the play-offs I think a lot of people would have taken that if they’d been given it at the start of the season.

“Especially considering how the last three or four months of last season went where we didn’t win for a long time.

“It’s been an okay start to the season but we’re ready to kick on.”