first choice goalkeeper<\/a> earlier this summer, fans will have to wait until the team sheets are released on Saturday. When asked who would start, the manager simply replied: \u201cYou\u2019ll see at 2 o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\nThat competition is a theme Butler has actively built throughout the squad this summer, revealing his satisfaction at having multiple options in every area of the pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look across the squad now and I\u2019ve got two players per position, and that was what I was aiming for,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt takes a bit of pressure off, but it also adds competition, and that\u2019s what I want. I don\u2019t want anyone to sit back and go, \u2018right, this is my starting position\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
He sent a clear message that every player must remain ready, stating that a place in the starting eleven is never guaranteed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about who starts at the beginning of the season, it\u2019s about the squad,\u201d Butler insisted. \u201cThe team that starts against Tamworth probably won\u2019t start against Sunderland (U21s). There\u2019s your carrot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bracing for a \u201cBlood and Thunder\u201d Opener<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to the challenge posed by a Tamworth side that finished just outside the National League North playoffs last season, Butler is under no illusions about the difficulty of the task.<\/p>\n
He expects a fiery and intense atmosphere for the opening fixture.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be blood and thunder,\u201d the manager predicted. \u201cAndy [Peak] has got them organised. They\u2019re strong, robust, and direct. It\u2019s going to be a tough, tough test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be high-tempo, it\u2019s going to be red hot guaranteed on the 3G pitch, so you\u2019ve got to play and dictate the tempo.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the squad ready and competition for places at its peak, The Iron appear well-prepared for the battle that awaits as they officially begin their new chapter in the National League.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scunthorpe United have received a timely fitness boost ahead of their season opener away to Tamworth, with manager…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-53638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}