Rob Edwards: AFC Telford must bounce back at Tamworth
Boss Rob Edwards has challenged troubled AFC Telford United to rise to the occasion as they head to Tamworth tomorrow.
The second from bottom Bucks’ last win on the road was on October 21 – at bottom club North Ferriby United.
The Lambs – who Telford beat 2-0 in the reverse fixture in November – last won at home on New Year’s Day.
Edwards is desperate to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to Curzon Ashton on Tuesday, and said: “It’s a huge game – both teams had disappointing results in midweek (Tamworth losing 3-0 to Blyth Spartans).
“We need to try to bounce back. Being away from home, the pressure is off us slightly.
"It may be better for us because there’s no doubt, at home, that it can be difficult when things aren’t going your way.
"It’s a big game, that’s obvious. It’s there for all to see. We’ve got to rise to it.”
Supporters are expecting to see some changes to the side that slumped to defeat against Curzon at the New Bucks Head.
Shrewsbury Town loanee John McAtee could come in for his full debut.
On whether he will shift things around, Edwards said: “We can’t make wholesale changes – we’re not a Premier League team with 50 players on the books.
“There will be one or two changes.
“But that would probably be the case anyway, playing three games in a week.”
Goals from John Marsden and Elliot Newby saw Telford prevail in the reverse clash against Tamworth.
The Bucks – who are two points off safety heading into tomorrow’s encounter – had to dig in deep for those three points and Edwards wants his men to be resilient again.
“It was a dogged performance, we weren’t at our best on that night,” he said.
“We got a bit of magic from John Marsden that night and, of course, we’ll take the same result again.
“We weren’t great up until John’s goal but we saw the game out after that.
“It just shows how goals can impact games, like how Curzon’s second goal did on Tuesday night.
“As I’ve said, I thought we played quite well in the first half but we seemed to lose that belief after their second goal went in.”
He added: “We need to make sure we have that belief and need to react better if we concede first.”
