Boss needs more players like Awadh

Ford says the young midfielder can be relied upon to go about his business without the Puritans boss having to remind him of what he needs to do. And Ford admitted he does not have enough players like Awadh.

Ford said: “It’s been a disappointing campaign but you find out about your players over the course of the season and in games.

“I don’t have enough players who are self-driven, don’t need me to motivate them but just turn-up and do their job.

“That’s where we’ve been lacking this season, players being in control of their own performances instead of me having to continually tell them what they have to do, time after time.

“Amer Awadh’s attitude to the game is absolutely top drawer, he works tirelessly for the team and his attitude will take him anywhere he wants to go in his football career. He’s so tenacious, he goes into every challenge and comes out with the ball, he just gets on with his job.

“I know he will give me everything in every game and I don’ think I’ve got enough of those types of players.”

Ford has mixed feelings about Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Evo-Stik League South leaders Kettering Town, where Edmund Hottor saw red against his former club.

He said: “For the first 20 minutes it was as good a performance as we’ve produced for a long time. The leaders couldn’t get the ball off us but with ten men we had to get to halftime only a goal down.

“They didn’t have to work that hard to score and that’s been a problem for us recently. But I applaud my team because they could have rolled over in the second half or gone out and competed with the leaders, which they did.

“I have no complaints over Edmund Hottor’s red card but all credit to their player, he didn’t make a meal of it by rolling around.”