Stratford players gear up for eight ‘cup finals’
STRATFORD Town’s players took to the water this week as they prepare for what head coach Paul Davis has dubbed eight cup finals.
Defeat at home to Stourbridge on Saturday saw the Bards drop to fifth ahead of their trip to one of the clubs just outside the Southern league Premier Central play-off places, Harborough Town.
And while Davis has bolstered his squad by bringing in midfielder Jack Burgess from Stafford Rangers, he admits that they were also close to luring former Cheltenham Town and Raith Rovers striker Manny Duku to the Arden Garages Stadium only for the Dutchman to sign for Solihull Moors where he scored twice on his debut on Saturday.
“The approach we have now is that we have eight cup finals,” Davis said. “I have had a chat with my staff about how we approach those cup finals and at the minute, the approach is to pick a team to win a specific game. If players play well in a game, it doesn’t mean they are going to play the week after because it might not be right.
“We are going to try a few different things leading up to each game to make it feel like a cup final and if we win more than we lose then we will be in the top five come the end of the season.”
Tuesday’s training session was spent at the town’s leisure centre as the head coach looked to take some of the pressure off his players.
Davis added: “We wanted to do something a bit different so we arranged to play water polo. It’s a chance to get away from the football club and the pitch and to try and have a bit of fun.
“The players are a little tired because we have had a lot of games since January on pitches that have gotten heavier. A little bit of recovery in the water can only help.
“You can spin stats in all directions. We’ve won one in five but then we’ve only lost two in eight. There are a few draws in there but that was the case at the beginning of the season. It is all about getting points on the table if that’s through drawing games then so be it.
“We have scored the fifth most goals in the league. Since January we have scored fours, twos and threes in games and it is irrelevant where they come from. We have eight games left and to win all eight we only have to score eight goals. The goals have to come if we continue creating chances - it is the law of averages.
“Game for game we have the best defence in the league and if you have the best defence then you will end up being somewhere near the top.
“I can’t remember the last time we lost back-to-back and we have to make sure that doesn’t happen on Saturday. Harborough are a good side but we must be better because we are above them in the table.”
Burgess linked up with his new teammates this week and the Bards coach explained what the former Rushall Olympic and Sutton Coldfield Town player will bring to the side.
“He will add something that we are lacking in midfield,” Davis explained. “He is a proper, total footballer. On some occasions it won't be right for him to play but on other occasions we will need him to play. We have lacked the ability to open teams up and that’s what he brings.
“Manny Duku was keen and three hours away from meeting me and Jed [McCrory] but then he ends up at Solihull Moors where he scored two on his debut on Saturday. Maybe he will come and sit with us in the summer, who knows.
“The reason to bring in another centre forward is to try to take the burden off Callum because there is a lot of pressure on him at the moment.
