BOSS Tim Harris has urged his Redditch United side to bounce back in quickfire fashion should Saturday’s scheduled Southern Premier clash at home to Royston Town beat the big freeze.
The visit of the Hertfordshire side remained on as the Standard went to press late on Thursday and Harris hopes a return to the Trico Stadium will represent a good chance to erase the disappointment of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Biggleswade Town, for whom Jack Bowen netted the only goal in the 37th minute.
The Reds had gone into the match buoyed by successive home wins in which they netted seven goals but, on a terrible pitch, they never got into any real rhythm and returned empty-handed as they remain without an away league win since early October’s 2-1 success at Kings Langley.
Redditch, 16th in the table, have just pride to play for in their remaining 11 games, but Harris is determined they will do just that as they seek to end the campaign on a high.
Harris accepted playing conditions were tough at the Carlsberg Stadium but admitted his players paid the ultimate price for a sloppy mistake and must do better on their travels.
He said: “We’ve only won three away league fixtures this season and lost 12. That’s something we obviously need to fix for now and next season. We need to work harder on a game plan when we visit teams, especially this time of year when pitches are heavy or uneven.”
However, the manager believes his side do have the capabilities to match their home exploits – the Reds are unbeaten at the Trico in 2018 – on their travels and cited game management as key.
For now though, he is keen to see a response against ninth-placed Royston who retain an outside chance of finishing in the play-off places.
“We have bags of quality in our squad. The supporters (at home) have watched exhilarating goals, excellent performances and results to back them up,” said Harris.
“With the performances at home, I hope we can put on another show for our fans on Saturday – weather permitting, of course!”
Saturday’s visitors have plenty of talent in their squad, showcased not least by an impressive home win over promotion hopefuls Kettering Town. Among the Crows’ squad is former Cambridge United, Stevenage and Lincoln City striker Adam Marriott who has scored 20 goals in 31 appearances this season.
Redditch remain without defender Louis Ezewele, who is sidelined with a hamstring problem for another two to three weeks.
Meanwhile, the home match against St Ives Town, postponed due to bad weather in midweek, has been rearranged for Tuesday, April 10.
