Brackley boss Wilkin wary of wounded Telford

Brackley Town manager Kevin Wilkin is wary of a wounded animal as his team gear up for a clash at AFC Telford United this weekend.

The Saints return to Vanarama National League North action having fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to see off Southern League Premier Central side Coalville Town 4-2 in the second qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup last weekend.

Telford, however, weren’t so fortunate as they were dumped out of the competition by Step 4 side Stamford who clinched a 2-1 success at the New Bucks Head in one of the upsets of the round.

Wilkin knows Telford will be seeking a positive response after that setback but he insists his team have plenty to do after he was disappointed with the first-half display against Coalville, which came after they suffered their first league defeat of the season to Darlington last Tuesday.

“We made life difficult for ourselves to be honest,” Wilkin said.

“As a group, we have recognised what games like these bring in the past and I just felt in the first half certain players didn’t understand the moment and situation they were in.

“We found it really tough and it just emphasises that you’re only as good as your last game.

“We have plenty of work to do to make sure we are putting a better performance in over 90 minutes.

“Telford wouldn’t have expected to get beaten by Stamford at the weekend and they will want some sort of reaction and response to it.

“When a team has been wounded in that way, you have to be wary of it

“But we are also off the back of the disappointing result against Darlington and we want to try to bounce back and maintain our decent start to the season.”

Goals from Ellis Myles, Matt Lowe, Lee Ndlovu and Brad Rolt ultimately proved to be enough to give Brackley victory last weekend and they now face a trip to Midland League Premier Division side Hanley Town in the third qualifying round on October 2.

It represents a potential banana skin for Wilkin’s team but the manager insists the full focus is on Telford before anything else.

“We have had a discussion about them (Hanley) already and they have some vastly experienced players,” he added.

“It’s a game that will come with different challenges.

“We have a massive league game to focus on first but then we will look at Hanley a bit closer after that.”