Home triple-header key for Thorley

Stafford Rangers midfielder Tom Thorley is hoping home is where the heart is as the team aim to end their winless streak with a triple-header coming up.

The next three weeks will see successive Saturday matches at Marston Road starting with mid-table Ilkeston, then current league leaders Fleetwood before next month begins with a battle against relegation-threatened Vauxhall Motors.

Rangers then face trips to Solihull Moors and Gloucester before the final home game of the season, the visit of Gainsborough Trinity on April 17, before the season ends with a trip to Workington the following week.

When Saturday comes Chris Brindley's men will go into battle without a win in eight but that does not tell the whole story, with just two defeats and some six draws over that period.

Hometown star Thorley is urging his team-mates to end their barren run in front of their fans in this vital sequence of fixtures, whilst retaining the hard-to-beat edge that has lifted them eight clear of the relegation places.

He said: "It's really tight but it's in our own hands, because we have more points on the board than everyone below us. We have got three home games on the bounce now where we must pick up points to steer us away from danger, and ideally we would want a two-win return.

"Ilkeston and Fleetwood will be very tough and we know that, on paper Vauxhall Motors is more winnable. They are all tough games I suppose, we have talked about how we need to turn draws into wins but we are not losing either.

"We don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves, if we play well enough the wins will come."