King keen for his men to relish the battle
Tividale boss Dave King has urged his charges to enjoy the battle for West Midlands League glory as they bid to turn up the heat on their title rivals, writes Nick Elwell.
Victory at Wellington tomorrow would fire Tivi 10 points clear of second-placed Haughmond, who are without a game this weekend.
The Shropshire side would have three games in hand but King would rather have the points in the bag and has encouraged his squad to relish the Premier Division run-in as they chase success on four fronts.
“We have six league games left and we have plenty to play for in various cup competitions,” said King.
“We are in the final of the Birmingham Midweek Cup, the semi-finals of the JW Hunt Cup and the quarter-finals of the League Cup. But the league is the one we want and we have to relish the battle.
“Opportunities like this don’t come along very often and the players have to enjoy it, that’s what I have told them.
“It’s far better than being stuck in mid-table with nothing to play for or battling to stay up.
“It’s in our own hands and we have to just take care of ourselves.
“We all look at the table but I keep stressing to the lads that all we can do is concentrate on ourselves.
“We can’t influence what Haughmond do.
“We have to be ready week in week out because you get some strange results at this stage of the season. The sides at the bottom want results for different reasons and some of them will start picking up points.”
King is expecting a stern test in Herefordshire tomorrow and has fitness concerns over striker Dimitri Brown and Liam Wilkinson.
But he was encouraged by elements of last weekend’s 4-0 win at home to Pegasus Juniors.
“It was a pretty comprehensive win last weekend and at times we looked like we were back to old selves and playing the way we were earlier in the season,” he said.
“We scored four and could have had a few more but their keeper played very well.
“We haven’t been as fluent recently but we have picked up victories and that’s all you can ask for at this stage of the season. And I will be more than happy if that remains the case. It’s certainly all about results now.”
Dudley Sports continue their push for survival at Bilston Town Community tomorrow while Cradley head to bottom of the table Pegasus looking to boost their hopes of a top 10 finish.
Smethwick Rangers welcome AFC Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton Casusals make the trip to Shawbury.
