Assistant boss Le Masurier happy Poppies are showing substance over style

Assistant managers Tom Cherry and Jim Le Masurier enjoying the second goal on Saturday (PIcture: Peter Short)

The Poppies secured a fifth straight win in all competitions on Saturday when they battled their way to 2-0 home win over Alvechurch on a difficult surface, with Adi Yussuf netting a goal in each half to seal the points.

It was also a fifth straight clean sheet for Richard Lavery's side, who have now moved nine points clear of the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central drop zone.

They go into Easter confident they can keep their run going when they host Barwell on Saturday (ko 3pm) and then travel to Stratford Town on Easter Monday.

Adi Yussuf celebrates opening the scoring at Alvechurch (Picture: Peter Short)

Although still 17th, the Poppies are now just six points off 10th, and a top-half finish this season is a possibility, especially as five of their remaining seven fixtures are at home.

After strugging at Latimer Park earlier in the season, Kettering have made it a fortress under Lavery, and although matches may not always be the most entertaining, it is the results that count.

And assistant boss Jim Le Masurier said: "If you ask me, or any fan, would you to be entertained and to lose a football match, against working extremely hard and maybe not being as entertaining, but you get the wins.

"The answer will be you want the wins, and where we are in the league we want the wins.

Adi Yussuf celebrates netting his second goal in the win over Alvechurch (Picture: Peter Short)

"To be fair to Lavs, he has come in and he has acquired a squad and a team, he has only brought one or two in, and the rest are not his players.

"So to get the tune out of them that he is we are not going to care, we want results and that is the most important thing.

"Next season might be a different story, but not many teams on this pitch will come and entertain playing superb football.

"That is just a fact, and last season Lee Glover had to do the same.

"We are also having to do something similar and we don't care. We are winning games, we are keeping clean sheets, we are difficult to break down and that is what it is all about.

"We are not looking at escaping relegation, we are looking at how high can we finish. Can we finish 12th? Can we finish 10th? There are still a lot of points up for grabs and we are confident."

Interview: Peter Short