United get a positive message for run-in

Banbury United entertain lowly St Ives Town in Saturday’s Evo-Stik Southern League clash and Ford knows his side will be expected to take maximum points.

The Puritans are ninth in the premier division but Ford has not given up on closing the gap on the top five teams.

He said: “We’re unbeaten in seven games but if we finish the season winning a game then losing the next, it will be seen as letting an opportunity slip.

“We must make sure the end of the season is not a disappointment for our supporters. We can either give the play-off teams a run for their money, make it into the top five or see the season drift away.”

United could only draw at St Ives in December following a poor performance and Ford said: “We’ve produced some good performances against top sides, especially since the turn of the year. But if we feel St Ives aren’t that good because of where they are in the table we’ll come unstuck.

“They went to Frome and won in midweek recently and took the lead against Slough on Tuesday before losing. So we’ve got to make sure we’re on it because we need to make these types of games easier than what we’ve made them earlier in the season.

“We went to St Ives and were 2-0 down early on, we were appalling and that was down to our attitude. That has happened a couple of times this season which is disappointing.

“It was something which we didn’t have a problem with last season so we have to approach every game as though we are playing a top side.”