Striker Colby Bishop is relishing the trip to table-topping Sunderland on Saturday and is ready to fight for the Reds’ cause after a ‘strange’ few weeks.
The 24-year-old was the subject of a bid from Championship side Peterborough during the final days of the transfer deadline and was captaining and scoring for Stanley in the Papa John’s Trophy on the night the window closed.
Bishop, who has scored three goals so far this campaign and came to the Reds from non-league Leamington, admits it did unsettle him but he is now focused on giving his all for John Coleman’s side.
He scored at the Stadium of Light last season in a 3-3 draw without fans and is looking forward to a packed ground.
“Since I have come to this club, it’s one of the things I have looked forward to, playing Sunderland away and Portsmouth away.
“When you go to those clubs without fans, as much as it is a spectacle playing at the grounds, it’s not the same.
“To play in front of 30,000 is a tremendous feat and I think we thrive off those kinds of atmospheres.”
Bishop knows there is no fear-factor going to these former Premier League grounds and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Reds at the league summit at 5pm.
“Any pitch we go onto in League One, I never think ‘these are so much better than us’, we know we can beat anyone in this league when we play our best football.
“It seems to be a knack here that when we play the bigger teams, we tend to turn up a little bit more. I don’t know why, sometimes when you go to those games thinking ‘this is a big club’ there is just a bit more in it and it’s proved in the past with the results we have had.
“As soon as we step onto the pitch we don’t think about anything else. We are League One footballers, they are League One footballers and both playing for the same thing – three points.”
The transfer saga is now behind him as he focuses on his future with the Reds.
“It was strange as I have never been through things like this before. I was taking it with a pinch of salt and trying to go hour by hour as that’s what it was.
“It was a strange day and once you come to football, you just get on with it and everything else off the pitch goes out of your head.
“I love this club, I am so thankful for the opportunity that they gave me and every minute I am here I am going to work as hard as I can.
“I am not that type of person to chuck my toys out the pram. I have my opinion on things but once I am playing for a club like this which I love, and which have done so much for me, I am not going to be like that.”
The full pre-match interview video with Colby Bishop is available to watch on the club's official YouTube channel, CLICK HERE to find out more!