Ahead of Saturday’s Pitching In Southern League Premier Central match, at home to Alvechurch (3:00 KO), manager Gavin Hurren has previewed the fixture, as well as reflecting on our most recent match, the Leiston postponement and news regarding two players.
“Regarding the Pershore match – I stand by what I said after the game and that’s congratulations to Pershore, who deserved to go through. Our performance was disappointing at the end but I felt the lads dealt with the new formation I dropped on them, we played some really good stuff and scored three really well worked goals.
“Unfortunately, we switched off in the last 10 to 12 minutes, conceding three goals and going out on penalties. But, as much as we’re disappointed, we need to forget about it, whilst still learning about it, very quickly.
“We’ll be working hard at training this week to prepare for Alvechurch, as we embark on a really tough run of games coming up. We have to stick together and try to put it right on Saturday.
“I was really disappointed that the Leiston game on Saturday was called off, but I understand the weather was poor and the pitch was waterlogged. It was unfortunate, but we now have a rearranged date (Tuesday 22nd February) and we’ll now have to look at guys getting time off work, as we’ve got some time to do that before the game.
“I want to thank those fans who went down there and booked hotels. It really means a lot – it’s great to see fans were committed to go but we now have to go midweek, which will be difficult, but it’s something we’ve got to overcome and make sure we go down with a positive mindset and a gameplan, and it’s important we give our all. If we do, hopefully we’ll come away with a successful result.
“Moving onto Alvechurch, a team who are having a fantastic season. They’ve got some fantastic players and they’re well organised. Ian (Long – manager) and the team have got them playing some really good stuff. I’ve got a lot of friends there and with what Richard (Thorndike – chairman) and the board members are trying to do there – it’s all positive.
“We’re going to have a really good game and I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully the attendance at the VG is going to be a good one, as I know the lads will be looking for a positive reaction after what happened on Tuesday. I’m looking forward to seeing the character I’m going to get from the boys.
“Alvechurch are in the play offs, so it will be good for ourselves to see how far we are off it because if we have aspirations next season of pushing up the league towards the play-offs, we need to be able to compete with teams who are higher in the league.
“A bit of player news. Firstly, Jordan Wilson, who is somebody with great potential and I believe, when his fitness is right, he’ll be a force at Step Three. He’s been training really hard but he’s not quite up to match fitness, so he’s gone to Quorn on a dual-registration. He’ll still train with us on a Thursday but he’ll get game time with them. We’ll keep in contact and hopefully he’ll be back before the end of the season.
“Secondly, Joe Willis. His loan has finished but we’re hoping to bring him back to Sporting, as I think he’s done fantastically. He’s settled into the team brilliantly and some of his performances have been top drawer. We’re in discussions with Walsall to try and get that over the line until the end of the season.
“I want to thank fans and everybody supporting the team. It means a lot and we’re looking forward to seeing everybody on Saturday.”
