We're not thinking about relegation, says Stratford Town goalkeeper Liam O'Brien
LIAM O’Brien admits one win in the last 13 league outings is relegation form – but the goalkeeper is confident Stratford Town will be playing step three football next season.
The Bards have been on a slippery slope since losing just one of their opening eight Southern Premier Central fixtures, with Tuesday’s 4-2 defeat at the hands of FA Cup heroes Alvechurch dropping them into the relegation zone.
That came on the back of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at bottom-of-the-table Hednesford Town, meaning Stratford are still searching for their first away win of the campaign.
While the run of form is deeply concerning supporters, O’Brien told the Herald that spirits in the camp remain high and he believes once that illusive win arrives, it will be a huge weight lifted off the players’ shoulders.
“We’ve got the quality to be right up there but based on the run we have been on, it is relegation form,” he said.
“There is too much quality in this squad to be down the bottom, though, and I’m confident we will be nowhere near it at the end of the season.
“We’re not even thinking about getting relegated, once we get that win it will give us a lot of confidence and we’ll be fine. The mood in the changing room is good but it will take a massive weight off our shoulders once we get that win.”
O’Brien understands the frustrations of the Bardy Army but he stressed the players are working as hard as possible to turn the results around.
“We’re not clicking for some reason and the players are just as frustrated as the fans,” he said.
“We’ve not had luck on our side throughout the season and we’ve made some mistakes that have cost us points.
“The mistakes we’ve made have been frustrating because we seem to be making them at the wrong time in every game.
“You take those away and we would have so many more points on the board.”
There’s still half the season to go and O’Brien remains upbeat that Stratford are capable of putting a run of consecutive wins together that can fire them into the play-off mix.
“If we can string five or six wins together before the end of January then all of a sudden it’s a completely different picture,” he said.
“The table does not lie, though, and we are down there for a reason but we know we have enough quality to be up there. And I would not write that off from happening if we can get on a run. I’m confident things will change for us.”
The Bards will be looking to claim their first away win on Saturday when they visit Bedford Town (3pm kick-off).
The two sides had played out a 1-1 draw at the Arden Garages Stadium on the opening day of the season.
