Preview: AFC Telford United boss Kevin Wilkin chasing some early Christmas cheer
Kevin Wilkin has called for his AFC Telford United players to build some momentum into the busy Christmas period, starting this weekend against St Ives Town.
The Bucks have found consistency hard to come by this season, and with three wins and three defeats in their last eight games they have lost ground on league-leaders Kettering Town.
And having already been knocked out of both the FA Trophy and FA Cup, the Bucks boss is hoping to benefit from being able to fully focus on promotion from the Southern Central Premier.
“We aspire to chase what’s in front of us and pick up points,” Wilkin asserted. “There’s not a lot between most of the clubs in this division, and it’s up to us to prove that we can find that level of consistency and get on a run that will see us put results together back to back and give us some momentum.
“I don’t think we’ve been particularly lucky with how the momentum of games has gone this season, and I don’t think we’ve been particularly lucky with injuries either.
“Sometimes these things can go against you and be more of a challenge than you’d like, but we’re not in a poor position by any stretch and a win on Saturday would send us into the Christmas period right there in and around it.”
Opponents St Ives currently sit 12th in the Southern Central Premier, six points clear of the relegation zone and five points off the play-offs in an extremely congested table.
The Saints finished ninth last season, and with 87 goals scored ended the campaign as the division’s top scorers.
Key striker Jonathan Edwards has left for big-spending Kettering, and scored twice against the Bucks earlier this month, but Kevin Wilkin believes they will still pose a big threat tomorrow.
“They’re a team that I’ve seen live two or three times this season, and they’ve got some decent players in their ranks,” the Telford boss said. “They’ll be disappointed to have lost arguably the best striker in the league to Kettering, but even with that they have some good players.
“I remember both meetings last season were close affairs and we’re in for another tough game, but they’re all tough as we know.”
Telford’s task will not be made any easier by another defensive injury, this time to captain Sam Whittall.
Jordan Cranston and Reece Styche return to the squad after being cup-tied, but injured duo Ellis Myles and Alex Gudger are expected to remain on the sidelines.
“Ellis will be a little while yet before he’s back, but Alex has a little bit of a chance of being available soon,” Wilkin revealed. “Whether he’s ready for this weekend I’m not sure. We weren’t able to train on Tuesday because of the weather so we’ll have to find out a little bit more after Thursday.
“Sam’s a cause for concern as well, so that’s potentially three that we won’t have on Saturday, which in an 18 man squad now does still leave us a little bit light.”
