Cray Wanderers head for the Isthmian Premier’s bottom side on Saturday – Potters Bar Town – with boss Tim O’Shea hoping that his side can turn some of their draws into wins to keep pace with the play-off hunters.
Wands have already drawn eleven of their twenty games, and O’Shea is only too well aware how close his side are having only lost three League games all season which is only bettered by fifth placed Aveley – who have lost just two – and currently have lost fewer than all of their rivals at the top of the Premier table – including leaders Folkestone Invicta, Chatham Town and neighbours Dartford.
Talking to KSN this week, O’Shea admitted, “We just can’t get the draws into wins! We missed two first half penalties on Saturday (Wands drew 1-1 at Canvey Island) – we should have been four up at half-time, but we came in at 0-0. It is getting increasingly frustrating because I feel now that we have left between six to eight points out there. I know a lot of sides are probably saying the same thing as they look back, but these draws are, although it keeps the momentum going as such, there are certainly some points been left on the pitch!”
“Our side has changed since the start of the season through various reasons; we have had make shift centre half’s at times and our main striker we signed in the summer came with a five game ban – you know I think in the twenty games that we have played, we have probably only had a settled fourteen/fifteen/sixteen players for half of them! In that regard to only three games is an achievement!”
The Wands head to rock bottom Potters Bar this weekend looking for just their second win in their last ten game, but the manager warned, “They might be bottom of the League, but they got a great result in the week (winning 2-1 at St Albans City), and listening to their new management team, it certainly sounds like a work in progress. They are going to have their tails up – will be a tough one that’s for sure!”
“With the Christmas period coming up, now is the ideal time to start getting more of those three points! Christmas is going to be tough for non-League managers – it always is! We know that there will be some overindulgence because the players are “only” non-League, but I do suppose that the beauty of it is that if we are up the right end of the table, players will hopefully show that little bit more restraint when it comes to having the extra mince pie or two!”