The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Seb Hayes reckons that Saturday’s Buildbase FA Vase clash with South Normanton Athletic will conclude the biggest week of his Holbeach United reign so far.
The clash comes hot on the heels of the Tigers’ Lincs FA Senior Trophy quarter-final win over Deeping Rangers on Wednesday.
Holbeach progressed on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes and move into the last four of a competition they can realistically target to win.
And, with cups the priority for boss Hayes this season, he’s demanding that his side get positive result on Saturday too.
Despite seeing their eight-game winning run smashed by Rothwell Corinthians last weekend, Tigers chief Hayes reckons that his team measure up to anybody at step five standard.
But South Normanton took the scalp of ChromaSport UCL Premier Division rivals Boston Town in the last round and won’t be taken lightly.
Hayes said: “I’ve always said that I’d back us against any team from our level at home.
“But, after two bad performances against Boston Town and Rothwell, I’m demanding a performance and result on Saturday.
“Nobody is guaranteed a shirt, that’s how bad we’ve been. If we play like that again, we will lose.
“The eight wins in a row will mean nothing if we go out of the FA Vase.
“At the start of the season, we targeted a top five finish and success in the cups. We’re not really in that group of teams that can win the league, so it’s all about the cups for us.
“I’d go as far as saying that this is the biggest week of my time at Holbeach.
“The cups are the priority for us and I’m demanding results and performances from the lads.
“I’m not panicking. I didn’t get carried away when we won all of those games in a row and I won’t if we lose a few in a row.
“But I’m aware that, while we can be brilliant at times, we can also be very bad.
“I’m not having all of the hard work that we’ve put in falling apart, I’m just not.
“We want the crowds to come back to Carter’s Park and enjoy their football again. We try to play the right way and hopefully they appreciate that.”
Holbeach welcomed back Ollie Medwynter and Will Bird to the squad for last night’s Lincs FA Senior Trophy clash with Deeping and both should be fit for the FA Vase showdown on Saturday.
The suspended Charley Sanders is the only absentee for the Tigers.
