Corby clash is ‘ideal’ for Poppies

Jersey Bulls score one of their goals as Kettering Town were well beaten 4-1 in a friendly on the Channel Island last weekend. Picture courtesy of Poppies Media

Lee Glover believes a clash at Corby Town is an “ideal” game to round off pre-season for Kettering Town.

The Steelmen and the Poppies will meet at Steel Park on Saturday (3pm kick-off) for what is the final friendly run-out for both clubs before their respective campaigns get under way.

It’s been a tricky pre-season for Glover who was appointed as Kettering manager earlier in the summer and was immediately tasked with almost a complete rebuild of the squad after a number of players departed.

The Poppies were beaten 4-1 at Jersey Bulls last weekend and, as a tough trip to AFC Fylde approaches on the opening day of the Vanarama National League North season, it’s likely Glover will be looking to add further numbers to his squad.

Poppies boss Lee Glover. Picture by Peter Short

However, as far as the final friendly is concerned, the Kettering manager is keen to see his team put in an energetic display in what he feels will be a “competitive” outing.

“That’s why I spoke to (Corby chairman) Stevie Noble and then to Lee (manager Attenborough) when I got the job because I thought the game would be ideal,” Glover, who had a spell as player-manager of Corby in the early 2000s, said.

“There’s no travel involved, there will be an edge to it and it will be competitive.

“We are going to get as near to a proper game as we can. It will be a proper test for everyone.

“We will look forward to it and I think there will be a half-decent gate as well to give us a bit of an atmosphere.

“I want to see a good performance, I want to see good energy.

“It’s a good game for us before we go to Fylde.

“It’s not necessarily about seeing a reaction from last weekend, that’s an easy thing to say.

“What I want us to do is put in a performance full of energy and see where it takes us.”

Last weekend’s trip to Jersey had been seen as an opportunity for some much-needed team bonding for the new-look Poppies.

But they were well beaten on the pitch and Glover admitted there were too many players who underperformed on the day.

“It’s always good to get the group together and get away,” the Poppies boss added.

“But the performance, I thought, was poor and too many key players underperformed.

“If we have three, four of our main players underperforming then we are going to struggle.

“We will have a meeting and chat about that this week. There can’t be any excuses.”