The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Satisfied Spalding United boss Pat Rayment believes the 4-0 thrashing of one of their promotion rivals will have other Evo-stik Division One South sides sitting up and taking notice.
He rates last Saturday’s demolition of Stafford Rangers – in front of the largest Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field crowd this season – as good as it gets.
“I haven’t seen a performance like that for many a year,” Rayment purred. “We dominated from the first minute to the last and didn’t allow them a passage of play throughout the 90.
“Bar Hornchurch last season (4-1 loss in FA Cup), who were a top Step Three side, no team has properly beaten us in my time here.”
Jordan Hempenstall grabbed two goals in the win over Stafford, with Rayment saying the signing from Grantham Town has raised the standard another notch.
Another recent capture – centre-half Jamie Stevens – has also made a difference.
“Jamma is playing as well as ever, we just need to get him a little fitter,” said the boss. “But he and Nathan Stainfield haven’t got a mistake in them.
“And when you’re able to bring on someone of the quality of Andrew Tidswell off the bench, it’s a nice situation.
“It’s that good that I consider my team not as a starting 11, but as a starting 16.”
Rayment made it his mission to push the club to the highest level it has ever been. The Tulips are now seventh in the table – just outside the play-off positions with matches in hand.
“We have just got to keep this rhythm going, he said. “We’ve got to keep starting off really well and that means doing the horrible stuff too. On Saturday we came up against probably the physically strongest side we’ve faced this season, but we managed to stand up and rebuff anything they throw at us.”
On Saturday the Tulips head to 18th-placed Stocksbridge Park Steels, who have won just two of their nine home games.
And on Tuesday, Rayment’s side host Coalville Town in the Doodson Cup (7.45pm).
