The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Holbeach United boss Seb Hayes admits that reeling in runaway Future Lions UCL Premier Division leaders Daventry Town will prove a difficult task.
The Tigers are currently on an 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions, winning nine of those games, but find themselves 14 points behind the table-toppers in fourth place.
Hayes has been happy with the progress his side have made in catching up with fellow high-fliers Rugby Town (second) and Pinchbeck United (third), but admits that Daventry haven’t put a foot wrong.
He’s hopeful that Holbeach will pick up three more points at Wellingborough Town on Saturday (3pm), however, as they bid to keep their title aspirations alive.
Hayes said: “With how the league table is looking, we have to win them all at the moment.
“We took a heavy beating the first time I took a Holbeach side to Wellingborough, but we’ve come on a long way since then.
“We’ve got to concentrate on the task in hand. We said at the start of the season that we want to win the title.
“But all you can say is fair play to Daventry, they keep on winning and have piled the points on the board. They’ve done very well, fair play to them.
“We’ve done well to catch up with the other sides, but there’s nothing we can do about Daventry at the moment. What we need to do is make sure that, if they slip up, we keep winning to capitalise.
“If we can’t keep the pressure on and keep our run going, we won’t deserve to be champions.
“We’ll have to see what happens, there is a long way to go. My focus is on the next run of games and taking as many points as possible.”
Holbeach will travel to the Dog and Duck on Saturday with a full squad, as captain Spencer Tinkler is expected to return from an ankle knock.
With defender Jamie Stevens was also hoping to continue his comeback, Hayes admits that he’ll have a selection headache on Saturday – but isn’t afraid to make the big calls.
“We’ll stick with what we’ve been doing,” added the Tigers boss. “So far, the lads are buying into what we’re doing here.
“Healthy competition can work both ways. The lads will either step up and fight for their place, or get angry and look to walk away. We’ve seen unhappy players leave this season, but hopefully they’ll respond well to the competition.”
Holbeach go into the game off the back of a 5-2 victory at Blackstones in the Lincs FA Senior Trophy.
