AFC Telford preview: Bucks hoping to build some momentum

The sides were due to meet in December, but the pitch at Garden Walk was deemed unplayable – an unsurprising fact given the treacherous conditions Telford were faced with in their game there last season.

And having played in one of the two games that did not succumb to the weather on Saturday, manager Kevin Wilkin is hoping to build some momentum in Hertfordshire.

“It’s a grass surface and over the weekend it will have been frozen, but looking at the forecast we hope it should start to warm up a bit and the game goes ahead,” Wilkin said. “Backing (Saturday) up is where we are at, that’s exactly what we need to do.”

He added: “Good teams are able to back their good performances up, dust themselves down after one tough game and go again in another.

“We did that really consistently throughout the best part of last season, and that’s what we’ve got to find again.

“We’re not quite in the place we all want to be in at this moment, and the only way we can do anything about that is to go out and show the right attitude to keep grinding results. That’s how you find yourself in that strong position mentally.

“We’ve been really stop-start throughout the course of the season, so to be in second place at this stage is a credit to all the guys that have got out there and earned the points.”

And with Royston sitting just outside the Southern Central Premier play-off places, the Telford boss is anticipating another big test for his side.

“Without a doubt we’re expecting a tough game,” Wilkin admitted. “They’ve been in good form and they’re right in and around the play-offs.

“They’ve got an eye on getting into those upper reaches and it’ll be a challenge against a capable team in good form.

“There’s some good physicality about them so we know we’re in for a tough game, no doubt about it.”

The Bucks were again without midfielders Byron Moore and Jakub Kruszynski at Bedford, while match-winner Matty Stenson was only fit enough to make the bench.

And a frustrated Wilkin provided a less-than-positive update on the trio.

“I thought we would certainly have Byron back by now and we haven’t, and that’s really frustrating because we need him back in and playing,” he fumed. “It’s a calf issue for Byron that has lingered on and on, and if I’m honest it’s really gone on longer than we’d be happy with.”

He added: “Jakub’s the same. Both of them had been really consistent performers for us and having them back in and around the group would make a big difference to us.”

“I don’t think there are any other issues outside of (Matty Stenson’s calf) from Saturday, certainly no-one has reported anything yet so in that sense we’re not in too bad a shape.”