Garry Monk Praises Cambridge United’s Resilience

Cambridge United manager Garry Monk expressed that he felt the greatest pride he had experienced all season after Sullay Kaikai’s excellent late header secured a point for them against Bolton. Kaikai had joined Cambridge from MK Dons in the summer of 2023. The U’s had previously managed only one point from their initial nine league games, but have since suffered just one defeat in their last seven matches. This 1-1 draw with Bolton was achieved despite Jubril Okedina being sent off in the 49th minute. “With 10 men, you can either feel sorry for yourselves or it galvanises you, and it actually galvanised us, and then galvanised the crowd,” head coach Monk informed BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. He added: “We stuck at it and out of all the games this season, that’s the proudest I’ve been. We deserved that goal 100 per cent. “You can talk about tactics all you like but there’s that innate feeling from a crowd when you see a group of lads giving everything they’ve got, they’ll go with you and that definitely happened. “That combination got us the goal back. It was an exceptional effort from everyone considering all the adversity we had to face in the game.” Sierra Leone international Kaikai has scored three goals in his last five appearances for the club and aims to retain his position in the starting line-up. Regarding his 89th-minute header, he commented: “I don’t score them often, but when I do they’re pretty decent. “It was a great cross (by Danny Andrew), the pace was on the ball so all I really had to do was direct it.” He continued: “I’m always pleased to chip in, I see myself as someone that can get goals so I put that expectation on myself and I just need to keep getting in the box and trying to finish my chances.” Cambridge remains in the relegation zone, occupying 22nd place and three points from safety, but Kaikai believes they can sustain their recent improvement. “In recent weeks that’s what we’ve built momentum on, picking up points, being resilient, so it’s just about having that extra little bit to go on and win as many games as possible,” he further stated. “Bottom line is don’t lose any games and from there try and win. It’s a massive confidence boost, it shows what we can do when we stick together, stick to the game plan and see it through.” Cambridge’s next fixture is against Wigan Athletic at home in the FA Cup second round on Saturday, before returning to league action with an away trip to Reading three days later.