The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Boss Seb Hayes insists that Holbeach United still have much to play for despite falling away from the ChromaSport UCL Division One title race.
Successive defeats against Cogenhoe United and Desborough Town have seen the Tigers lose their advantage in the race for the title, with Hayes adamant that their hopes are over.
However, the fifth-placed side remain on track to achieve their season’s objective of finishing in the top five and winning a cup.
The upcoming Lincs Senior Trophy final against Grimsby Borough will be played at Lincoln United on May 2 – and Hayes is worried that his Tigers have begun a slide that can’t be arrested.
“I know that the league title has gone,” said Hayes. “I sense the players feel that now too.
“Too many of the lads downed tools at Desborough on Saturday – I didn’t see any desire or workrate.
“But I’m not going to let us become that team that starts to slide at the back end of the season. I’m not going to accept us being that side.
“We’ve still got so much to play for – finishing as high as we can is the aim and there’s a cup final still to come.
“As far as I’m concerned, the season is nowhere near over. At the start of the season we always said that, in year one of our three-year plan, we wanted to finish in the top five and win a cup.
“The players need to take some pride in their performance and make sure the season doesn’t slide.
“There are shirts in the cup final up for grabs. My view is that we try and finish as high up as possible, maybe third.”
Holbeach have two differing fixtures over the Easter weekend.
Saturday sees them visit struggling St Andrews (3pm), before Monday serves up a tasty Carter’s Park derby with title hopefuls Wisbech Town (also 3pm).
Hayes is hopeful that he’ll have striker Charley Sanders, midfielder Joe Smith and defender Stacy Cartwright back in the fold for the two clashes as he considers a change of approach for the remainder of the season.
He’s also hoping to see which players want to be a part of his squad for next season.
“St Andrews isn’t an easy game for us,” added the Tigers boss. “If we play like we did on Saturday, we’ll get beat – for sure.
“Then we have Wisbech, who absolutely battered us last time we played them.
“My plan was to play two different sides over the games and give everyone a chance.
“But I think we’ll just see how the game goes on Saturday. If the lads impress, they’ll keep their shirt.
“I’m at that crossroads with the players again, it’s a place I didn’t imagine myself being if I’m totally honest.
“We’re with each other for the rest of the season, but the bigger picture is finding out which players are committed to the long-term plan.
“I have my doubts about some players being committed to the club beyond the end of the season. If they’re not, we’ll have to make changes.
“For now, we’ll look to be solid for the rest of the year.”
