Town boss hails Mat Sadler's attitude

Sadler went into today's clash at Wigan sweating on his place after being recalled at Gainsborough in the FA Cup last time out.

The experienced left-back was left out of the five previous games, losing his place to Junior Brown and then Nat Knight-Percival.

The latter is available today, after being suspended for the cup win at the National League North outfit.

Sadler admits he has struggled for his best form since returning to the club in the summer and gave away penalties against Millwall and Crystal Palace.

Admitting the former Birmingham man must get rid of the mistakes, Mellon said: "It's football isn't it?

"But the important thing is he's training well, he's a fantastic guy, his attitude is first class and he's determined to do his best.

"So he's a great example to any young player in the way you've got to behave and the professional way you've got to be."

Mellon insists he has faith in returning to Sadler to carry out a tactical plan, explaining: "I trust my players.

"Using Mat Sadler as an example, he's played left-back all his life and he knows what he's capable of.

"If there's something, I want in terms of solving a problem with the opposition or there's something we can exploit, I'll speak to the players and we'll try to come together with a plan to overcome that.

"If they're not in my team, I'll make sure they understand why and we'll have a conversation about it.

"We'll take time to make sure when the time is right for them to come back, they're ready so they can stay in the team."

Meanwhile, Mellon has told striker James Collins can keep the captain's armband if it inspires him like it did at Gainsborough.

The 24-year-old, who recently became a father for the first time, was skipper from the start for the first time at Trinity and scored the only goal.

Mellon said: "We'll have a look at that. But if it has the impact like it did at Gainsborough, we'll do that. James got the lift out of that so we'll probably leave it with him."

Collins was 16-goal top scorer last season and, with five to his name this term, Mellon believes the forward can repeat the feat.

He said: "He's certainly working very hard and we know how important he is to us to get goals.

"He can get hold of the ball, be the first line of defence, running with fire in his belly and showing that example to everyone else. They're all important things for him to do for the team."