On-loan midfielder Oliver Norwood is confident he's joined a side capable of challenging at the top end of League One – despite the Iron's sluggish start to the season.

Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, in which the Manchester United midfielder made his league debut for the club, means Scunthorpe have taken just three points from the first 15 available.

Although it counts for little, United's displays have, on the whole, been better than results suggest.

And Norwood - who misses tomorrow's Johnstone's Paint Trophy clash with Hartlepool and Saturday's home game with Colchester United while on international duty with Northern Ireland's U/21s - is confident it won't take much work to turn performances into decent points.

"The gaffer has said to us it's not what about happens in the first month of the season," the 20-year-old told the Telegraph after putting in another good shift Hillsborough.

"If we keep gradually winning and building up points I think we can get out of this league, no doubt.

"The quality is there, we just have to start punishing teams. We have to tighten up at the back and be more clinical up front."

It's the former of those two aims that is currently proving the most difficult.

The Iron have been behind in every one of their five league matches so far this term and at Hillsborough they conceded twice in the opening 16 minutes.

Despite showing few signs of fatigue on the back of a gruelling extra-time defeat to Newcastle United less than 48 hours previously, it was a mountain Scunthorpe were ultimately unable to climb.

"The level of performance and energy from the lads was a different class," added Norwood.

"But in that first 20 minutes we gave them a start and when you do that, it's a long way back.

"Like the lads mentioned in the dressing room after the game, we've got to stop giving people goals and then starting to play.

"In the first 15-20 minutes we have to keep the back door shut, because if we do we've got enough quality up front to score goals.

"Once we got the goal, it gave us a second wind. There was a buzz about us and we thought we could get something out of it.

"Really though we gave them three goals and that's disappointing.

"At both ends of the pitch we need to be more clinical."