Banbury United strike relationship with Premier League neighbours to land Coventry City loan signing
Banbury United interim manager Craig McKay hopes the loan signing of Coventry City youngster Jimmy Holman can plug a gap for the injury-stricken Puritans.
Central defender Holman made his Banbury debut in the narrow 1-0 defeat to Leamington last Saturday (November 7) and he’s set to be an important player for the next few weeks.
Signed on an initial 28-day loan, Holman is due to take part in a second successive local derby away at Stratford Town on Tuesday night (November 10) ahead of a trip to Needham Market on Saturday, November 14.
It was a disappointing result for Banbury last time out as Kai Tonge’s winner - just four minutes in after a mistake from midfielder AJ George - was enough to clinch the visitors a huge three points.
That early goal shook the Puritans and, despite playing much better in the second half, there was no way back into what was a relegation six-pointer at TUGO Community Stadium.
Banbury are now just one point above the Southern League Premier Central drop zone, with the 19th-placed Leamington gaining important ground.
It’s no surprise that the Puritans are struggling, though, with McKay having to field a makeshift team with a host of players out of position.
“We are really stretched for numbers still,” McKay told Puritans Live.
“Realistically, we were hoping to have Josh Smile and the skipper (Yaw Ofosu) back in the group today and that’s not been the case.
“We’ve also still got Alex Prosser and Aaron McCreadie out. But it is what it is, we have to chuck the sink at it with what we’ve got.”
There’s optimism that new addition Holman can make a difference, with the teenager’s arrival coming off the back of important discussions behind the decisions.
“We’d been working on that one in the background for about nine days. Lots of conversations were had with Coventry,” McKay explained
“It’s important we foster those relationships with local clubs. It’s not always readily available to be able to get somebody from an MK Dons or an Oxford because a lot of these players are tied up in under-21 leagues and they don’t want them going out at certain times.
“It’s quite difficult sometimes to free players up to get loans, but we’ve struck a really good relationship there and thanks to Coventry.
“We had good conversations with Jimmy and I thought he was excellent (on his debut). He’s got good non-league experience.
“He’ll be a really good addition to the group, especially as we nurse a few back to fitness.”