Bards coach hopes side can end home hoodoo

HEAD coach Paul Davis is hopeful that Stratford Town can end their home hoodoo with victory over visitors Spalding United on Saturday.

But he admits that their bid to end a winless run dating back to August became tougher this week after the Lincolnshire side drafted in three new players including two from the league above.

“They have gone and bought Dan Lawlor and Dion Sembie-Ferris from Peterborough Sports in National League North,” Davis explained. “That’s their captain and their striker who has scored 48 goals in 100 games.They are spending a lot of money having brought in those two players and last week they bought Nathan Fox from Telford. They are acting very seriously.

“They changed their manager very early on in the season and they are now doing what other sides do in pre-season and building a team. You look at their players now and you’d think they now have a side to challenge, they have good experience all the way through the team which will stand them in good stead.

“I personally think they are in a false position in the league. Me and Gav [manager Gavin Hurren] were talking earlier in the week about the teams we think are going to drop out of the top eight and those which will replace them and we both picked Spalding as coming from the pack - there’s always one team that comes with a run.

“I think Spalding will come and have a go on Saturday with the players they have in their squad. They should certainly be looking to do that and that is something that might suit us. The last team to come at us at home were Worksop and that could have finished 5-5 on the day.

“We know we need to be better at home but yet we have still only lost one at home all season. When we are away, teams play more freely which makes it easier for us to play.

“That said, in our last home game against Barwell we should have been 2-0 up at half-time. Against Lowestoft in the previous game, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if we had scored seven or eight.

“I think we are finding that formula, it is just about finding the results to go with it. But then if you told me we wouldn’t touch the ball at all on Saturday but win 1-0 then I’d take that.”

With Jamie Molyneux the only absentee other than Andre Wright who is on loan at Stafford Rangers, Hurren and Davis have options going into the game including new signing Harry Leeson who was a substitute in the 1-0 win at Royston Town on Saturday.

Davis added: “We have 16 fit players who could play every week - it’s not as if we have 11 players and a load of kids. It was key keeping the bulk of the squad from last season while some of the teams around us are signing three or four each week. It means we are a settled side and there won’t be many around the top end who can say that.

“Saturday was a game of few chances - a typical match at Royston. I thought the players showed real resilience towards the end when they put some pressure on us. We had to defend and we did that very well.

“Harry Leeson came on with 20 to 25 minutes to go and looked like he'd been around for weeks when he had only trained with us for two-and-a-half hours. It can be difficult bringing a new player into the group but he has done wonders and we’re looking forward to working with him.”