Grimsby Town skipper Justin Whittle is expecting a physical battle against Bury tomorrow but says he will relish every minute of it.
The stalwart centre-back admits he hasn't got the legs to go stride for stride with pacey strikers and prefers them to come in the big and powerful mould.Opponents such as the Shakers' Andy Bishop are just that and Whittle says he is ready for them, despite the exertion of playing 120 minutes in the midweek Carling Cup defeat to Burnley.
He said: "Bury have signed quite a few players and they have still got Bishop who is big and strong and scores goals, so there will be plenty of players we need to look out for.
"They are going to be a tough, physical team. Any side Keith Alexander has any involvement in always are.
"That suits me better, though. I'm more for a battle against the big lads than the quick ones so this game should be right up my street."
Whittle will be used to power-house centre-forwards by now having face Notts County's Jason Lee and the Clarets' Ade Akinbiyi in the past seven days.
In both matches Town more than equalled their opponents and Whittle says that although neither game yielded victories, they proved the quality of Alan Buckley's team.
He explained: "In the first couple of games and even the friendly against Scunthorpe we showed we are a good footballing team.
"We have passed it around well but we have also shown we can defend well for long periods.
"We are tighter at the back than we were last season and we aren't conceding goals from set pieces any more."
Town paid a double price against Burnley - not only losing on penalties but having to play extra-time as well.
It made for a far-from ideal start to the season for a man looking to wind down the number of games he plays, but Whittle insists he will always be ready to answer Buckley's call.
"The Burnley game took a lot out of us," he confessed.
"It would have been nice if all our effort was repaid with a win but it wasn't and we have got to pick ourselves up.
"It doesn't help playing extra time but it happened and we have got to get on with it.
"We certainly can't use it as an excuse.
"I thought I would have had it easier this season but it hasn't started that way.
"I'm here to play football, though, and I'll play every game I possibly can."
While Whittle's career is in its twilight, 17-year-old defender Ryan Bennett's is only just beginning.
And Whittle is full of praise for how the youngster has handled himself so far.
He added: "Ryan has done very well so far, in some tough matches.
"He has gone in at right back and shown that he's not only a versatile player but that he has settled into the first team well."
Source: Grimsby Telegraph
