A look to Saturday’s tie in Suffolk….
By Matty Paddock - 18/10/2024
Posted 7 months ago
HARRIERS make the trip to Needham Market in National League North on Saturday looking to get themselves back to winning ways.
A difficult afternoon in the Emirates FA Cup last weekend saw the Reds knocked out at the hands of Northern Premier League outfit Guiseley.
That understandably left boss Phil Brown extremely frustrated, but he’s confirmed his charges make Saturday’s long journey on the back of a positive week on the training ground.
Though still disappointed by the nature of the Cup defeat, he says the mood in the camp has improved progressively since, and now he wants to end it in style with three points against one of the division’s new boys.
He reflected: “What does happen to you is that you evolve as the week goes, you evolve into the Manager that you know you inherited a good team, a good club, and you brought together a group of players, and you find out the reasons for being beat by Guiseley.
“The reasons are there for me to see and me to understand, and we’re doing something about it, and have been doing something about it all week to tell you the truth.
“If somebody said after the game against Guiseley that I’d be frightened of losing the changing room – they’re a great bunch, they’re an absolute credit to themselves and a credit to the club.
“If I can’t get a tune out of them, it’s my problem and I have to deal with that, but it has been a good week but, as you know, a good week can be spoiled by a bad result – that’s the most important part of the week.”
Needham Market are adjusting to life at Step 2 having clinched last season’s Southern League Premier Central title.
Though they’ve at times struggled for results, they showed their credentials by seeing off South Shields 3-0 in their last home league game, and also have away wins at Workington and Hereford to their name this term.
They’ve been watched closely, says Brown, who added: “The planning, the preparation for the game against Needham Market, we’ve done a lot of research and we’ve probably done a bit more homework on the opposition.
“I’ve been accused of not relay understanding this league, I’ve been accused of not really understanding the tactics, the whereabouts, the ‘who’s, the whys, and the whats’ of the opposition. That’s because I like to focus on my own team.
“Is it a fault of mine? Probably, but that’s what I’ve been looking at; looking at Needham Market, studying how they play, what successes they’ve had and what failures they’ve had so far this season, and seeing if we can exploit them.”
Harriers head into the weekend with no fresh injury worries, Maliq Cadogan (hamstring) shaking off a concern early in the week. Brown confirmed injured duo Ben Beresford and Paul Downing are showing ‘good signs’ in their recovery and could be in and around the training picture in a couple of weeks.
Midfielder Luke Summerfield remains the other confirmed absentee and remains in plaster after his broken leg but visited the squad at last weekend’s game.
Kick off in Suffolk on Saturday is at 3:00pm.
Away travel is available from Harriers up to and including Friday, while the hosts have confirmed that tickets must be purchased in advance of the game.
This article is about: Match
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