Hinckley AFC visit GNP Sports tomorrow for the second of three away games in a week looking to build on a hard-fought point at Kirby Muxloe on Saturday.
And manager Courtney Belford admits the pitches at this time of year mean his side will have to adapt the way they want to play.
Saturday’s visit to Kirby Muxloe was a scrappy goalless draw with little in the way of goalmouth action.
And Belford thinks that the weather conditions throughout the winter will make pitches difficult to play fluent football on during the coming weeks.
“A lot of the games are going to be scrappy. Nobody’s played a lot of football, the pitches are heavy and boggy. They’re not going to be fluid football matches.
“We want to try and play decent football when we can, but when you look at the pitch, sometimes that’s difficult.
“We might sometimes have to be stronger, more athletic – go with those types of players and bring the technical footballers on later in games.”
With 13 league games remaining, AFC still sit in seventh with games in hand on the majority if sides below them.
One of those sides are GNP Sports – albeit they have played one game fewer than Hinckley and sit comfortably in mid-table in 10th in their first season at step six.
They have won 11 and lost 11 of their 24 games, sitting three points behind Hinckley.
And Belford says games against sides just below his side are important to build a strong end to the season.
“We’ve just got to keep going. Hopefully we can get a run together now, we’ve got 13 games left and we want maximum points.
“It was disappointing not to take all three on Saturday but when you reflect on it, we dusted off the cobwebs and didn’t lose so we take the point and move on.”
GNP have scored the fewest goals of any side in the top half, but Chris Lloyd’s 21 goals have been vital to them going forward – the former Heather and Bromsgrove man regularly a threat in Division One over the last few seasons.
A win will move them level on points with AFC with a game in hand, while three points for Hinckley will strengthen their grip on seventh.
GNP Sports groundshare with Coventry Sphinx at their Sphinx Drive ground, Coventry, CV3 1WA.
