Cambridge United’s Player of the Month Ryan Bennett calls on team-mates to take ‘responsibility’ in fight for Sky Bet League One survival

Having played in all of England’s top four leagues, there is very little Ryan Bennett has not seen.

He has been part of promotion-winning sides, ones that went on to qualify for European football. And he has also experienced the disappointment and pain that accompanies relegation.

The prospect of demotion is something Cambridge United fans are currently burdened with, particularly after last night’s 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Morecambe left them four points from safety in Sky Bet League One.

January addition Bennett went down from the Premier League twice with Norwich City and once from the Championship in his stint at Peterborough United.

But while every team’s situation is different, the Love Cambridge Player of the Month for February – voted for by supporters – is clear in what needs to be done if the U’s are to give themselves the best chance of getting out of trouble.

“It’s been very tough. When you’re in these situations things seem to go against you. Some people will look at it and make excuses, but it is what it is,” said the former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender, who turned 33 on Monday.

“You can look at the injuries the club has faced and then players came in during January and there’s been injuries since then as well. There’s been problems, especially in the forward areas with injuries.

“It comes to a point though where you can’t keep saying you’re unlucky if it’s happening so much. It’s one of those things where the players need to get better and take more responsibility.

“It’s a tough one for the manager because if you look at the games, in some of those we’ve created good chances, we look pretty solid and we’ve played well. He must be thinking ‘what do I change?’ As players it’s down to us to take the chances and make the most of the areas we’re getting in to.

“When it’s a prolonged run of bad results you can’t say it’s bad luck or anything like that because the league position doesn’t lie over 46 games.

“You end up where you deserve, I’ve always believed that. If you get the results you stay up, if you don’t then you go down. Over the course of a long season the league table doesn’t lie.

“At Norwich we got relegated after being in a similar situation, but that was obviously a different level so it’s hard to completely compare.

“But there will always be games you look back on and wish you could have done things differently. It’s tough, but every season and every team is different – no situation is the same.

“The only way we can get through it is by staying positive. We can’t change anything that has happened in the past, all we can do is affect the future. We have to stick together, keep producing chances, take some of them and work hard to keep them out at the other end.

“If we do that, maybe we could be two or three weeks down the line and these moments will be behind us and we can start to look forward.”

One aspect that has pleased Bennett since he joined the club at the turn of the year has been the positivity within the group.

Despite a run of form that has left United battling for their third tier status, the group is working hard to remain upbeat.

He added: “When you get a bit older like I am now, you have to put your experiences out there and talk to different players.

“We talk about stuff every day within the changing room and at the training ground.

“But it’s quite a positive group and the manager is doing a good job at keeping things positive.

“There has not been many times when the group has become too disheartened.

“Obviously there are certain things that happen in games that do get to you as players, but it’s important to keep a calm head.

“There are players in this squad – like myself – that have got experiences of different situations and that can prove important.

“I do feel like I have a role to play, but there’s also an individual element and players have to take responsibility.”

And the centre-back is also content with how he has slotted into the back three.

Bennett signed having not played since the end of the previous season after being released by Swansea City in September, yet he has been able to get up to speed in good time.

“It wasn’t too bad. I had a couple of weeks where I could train because there was some games called off when I arrived,” he said.

“I managed to get some extra sessions in which I didn’t think I was going to get at the time.

“There’s times when it has been more difficult than others. We’ve had a couple of hard weeks where we’ve been travelling, playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday and when you haven’t done that for a year or so it does become difficult. Overall I’ve found it ok and physically I don’t feel too bad.”

Cambridge United has teamed up with Cambridge BID to give supporters the chance to vote for their Love Cambridge Player of the Month, supported by the Cambridge Independent. Sponsors Love Cambridge is part of Cambridge BID, a collaboration of 1,200 businesses working together to promote and improve the city of Cambridge.