Leamington v Telford - Match preview

Paul Carden’s side travel to Leamington today in search of their first league win since mid-October.

They have lost their last three in all competitions and failed to win in eight National League North games, leaving them rooted at the bottom of the table.

And after losing 3-1 at home to Chester on Sunday, Telford have only enjoyed a 48-hour break to prepare for the clash.

But in Leamington they face a club that has also failed to win in their last seven games in all competitions.

A draw with Gloucester on Boxing Day saw them rise to 11th in the table as they consolidate a mid-table spot.

With the small gap between fixtures, Carden is relying on his players preparing right and hand Telford a much-needed win.

“You have to trust the players to look after themselves, live right and do everything they can do be ready, available and up for the game,” he said.

“From what I’ve seen in the division, there isn’t a lot between teams.

“There’s a couple of good sides that have some good players, have been together a couple years and have a lot of know-how and ability.

“But there’s a lot of very similar standard of teams and we should be better than what we are in this moment in time, but we’re not.

“We have to accept where we are but we cannot just stay where we are.

“We have to somehow find a way to stay in a game until the point where we can win a game, and at the minute we’re not doing that and giving ourselves that chance.”

Telford are two points away from safety and still within reach of getting out of trouble, but supporters are understandably frustrated with their current position.

And Carden is eager for his players to live up to expectation and put right the wrongs of their recent results.

“The expectation comes from within, it’s not just externally or when you look at the league table,” he added.

“You could take players out of each team, wherever they’re situated in the table, and put them in teams higher and there wouldn’t be a great deal of difference.

“Where we are, we need to be together and we need to make sure we try our best to avoid the errors that are costing us.

“Be in the right position, not gamble or chase it. Those things only happen if you keep working and that’s what we have to do.”

Telford’s new signing Mace Goodridge is expected to feature again today, after making his debut from the start against Chester.

However, they will be without defender Theo Streete.

The 34-year-old missed the Boxing Day game after testing positive for Covid-19 and will not return in time to feature against Leamington today.