Winger offers his thoughts following Wanderers' draw with Fulham at Macron Stadium
Despite having seen Wanderers denied victory late on against Fulham on Saturday afternoon, Liam Feeney called for the team to take inspiration from their efforts against the Cottagers.
After falling behind to a Luke Garbutt strike, a second-half brace from Zach Clough looked to have set the Whites on their way to a first victory since September, with Feeney himself providing the cross for the striker’s second effort.
But with Ross McCormack’s long-range free-kick ensuring that the spoils were shared at Macron Stadium, the winger couldn’t hide his dismay at leaving the game with just a solitary point.
“The overwhelming feeling is disappointment today,” he said. “Even when we conceded the first goal, we were clearly on top which meant that it was hard to take.
“I thought the lads were great though and they showed some great character like we did on Tuesday against Charlton when we pulled it back.
“When we went into the lead, I thought that we were going to go on and win. You can’t really legislate for a little bit of quality like their goal though.
“I think we were unlucky and we are disappointed of course, but we can take great heart from our performance today. We’re not dead and buried, we’re still fighting and it’s going to turn for us.”
He continued: “It was hard to come back from a goal down with the position that we’re in and it’s easy for heads to drop, but the lads are not doing that at all. We’ve shown great character and that’s definitely what is going to see us through this period.
“It’s not always going to be nice, but we’ve got that determination and that togetherness to pull through which will stand us in good stead.”
With Clough marking his first home start in three months with two goals for the hosts, Feeney paid tribute to the academy graduate.
“Zach’s done really well and especially the way he’s come back in the last two games and played the way that he has done is a credit to him.
“He gives us that bit of creativity which is always nice and teams just can’t seem to work him out.
“He’s playing really well and hopefully he can continue his good form to help us get out of this situation.”
Reflecting upon the upcoming festive period, the 28-year-old also hopes that the team’s recent upturn in fortunes in front of goal will stand them in good stead.
“Early in the season, we were looking like we were going to score but missed a hatful of chances, so hopefully we’ve turned a corner in that respect,” he explained. “We just need to make sure that we keep them out at the other end now as a unit.
“We’re two games unbeaten now which is never a bad thing, whereas today’s result will look like a much better point if we go and win on Boxing Day.
“We’ve got three big games over the Christmas period, two of which are at home, so we’ll be looking to take as many points as possible.
“To say we’re disappointed with a draw is a testament to the lads in the dressing room. We know we’ve got enough about us – we’ve certainly outplayed quite a few teams but just not got that break that we’ve deserved which will hopefully happen sooner rather than later.”
He added: “Also, we can’t thank the fans enough. We know they’re going through a hard time as well and we’re doing all we can to make sure things go right on the pitch.
“They’re right there behind us, willing us to win and hopefully we can reward them sooner rather than later.”