STEVENAGE striker Marcus Haber is relishing the competition for places that the club’s influx of strikers brings, writes Sam Glanz.
The Boro front man has been ploughing a lone furrow for the first half of the season and is confident new loan additions Sam Hoskins and Steve Beleck can give the side a different dimension in the attacking third.
He said: “Playing with two up front gives a bit more of a threat for the two players involved, you’re able to link and play off each other.
“Whether it’s me up there or somebody else, I think you’ve got to look at it as a positive and having the two guys on loan is only going to mean that you’re going to get the most out of the players in training.
“There’s competition for the spots now so I look at it as a positive and I’m sure it’ll bring out the best in everybody.”
When asked whether it was his preference to play as a lone striker or as part of a two, the 24-year-old opted for the latter.
“Playing with a partner probably, but I’m prepared to do whatever I need to do for the team,” he said.
“So whether the gaffer plays one up front or two up front if I’m on the field I’m happy.”
After Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers, Haber believes the solution to the teams’ poor form at The Lamex is as much in their heads as it is their feet.
“We’ve given up a lot of goals late in games and for whatever reason that just seems to be happening, so I think it comes down to some mental strength and togetherness as a team,” said the Canadian.
“We’ve been looking at some things on the video and trying to pinpoint some mistakes that can be prevented and we’re hoping to build on that.
“I think for the most part of the game we performed as well as we have done at home, we played some good football and created enough chances to win.
“The last two matches we’ve seen a large improvement in the consistency of play so from that standpoint we’ve got to look at the positives.”
With Boro’s weekend fixture at Bury in doubt due to the freezing conditions and snow forecast, even Vancouver-born Haber is unaccustomed to the bitter temperatures.
“I’m from out West so it doesn’t really get this bad usually; I think this would be the coldest it gets.
“You get a bit of snow in the winter, but usually I think Canadians deal with the snow better on the road, that’s for sure,” added the front man.
“I used to snowboard and ski quite a lot in the winter time, but obviously I don’t get to do that anymore.”
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