AFC Telford preview: Bucks boss seeking improvement
Kevin Wilkin has called for his side to ‘right the wrongs’ of their 3-3 draw at Hitchin Town in tomorrow’s meeting with Stratford Town.
The Bucks failed to capitalise on their Boxing Day triumph over second-placed Halesowen Town, taking the lead three times before sloppy errors allowed the Canaries to salvage a point.
And with both Kettering Town and Halesowen dropping points, Wilkin is desperate to see his side make up for their missed opportunities with a positive showing at the Bards.
“Hopefully the players can (right the wrongs of Hitchin at Stratford), and I certainly think the effort levels are there,” Wilkin said. “We’re expecting a tight game of course, especially with it being away at the in-form side in the division.”
He added: “They’re right up there, and a draw against Kettering having played with ten men for large parts would be seen as a good result.
“We’ll be in for a tough ride, but we know that, but again looking at what we did against Halesowen we just need to make sure we’re nailing down those levels again.
“We’ve dropped some points against sides in and around the relegation zone that I’m really disappointed about, and perhaps our players find it easier to focus in games like this against opposition in and around ourselves.
“We played second in the league and showed good levels of concentration, but then played second bottom and for whatever reason it was missing.
“You could argue we were away from home, but we have to be big enough and capable enough to get over that, and it’s my job as the manager to keep people up to their work.”
Despite the 48-hour turnaround between their last two games Wilkin named an unchanged starting XI at Hitchin, with the only squad change seeing Jordan Cranston return to the substitutes' bench.
However, with a few players close to returning to full fitness, the Bucks boss admitted he could be tempted to make changes at Knights Lane.
“If we can get everyone to the starting line on Wednesday I’ll clearly have some tough decisions to make, but that’s where I want to find myself as a manager,” Wilkin said. “I felt we were right where we needed to be (fitness-wise) at Hitchin, and you don’t score three goals away from home if you don’t have some energy about you.
“The fact we didn’t win the game is down to some really poor defending, a lack of organisation and understanding about our defending and some naive mistakes.”
He added: “We’re hoping Byron will be OK for Wednesday’s game.
“Jakub’s having a test back at Mansfield to see if there’s been any improvement for him, but it’s a bit of a niggling one that’s causing him a little issue really.
“Again, we should find out about that one fairly soon, but I wouldn’t expect him to be involved against Stratford.
“He’s not going to be risked while he’s not feeling 100 per cent.”
