Boss McDonald insists pressure not playing a part as Poppies hit sticky patch

The Poppies, who started the season with high hopes of mounting a title challenge, endured a tough start to the season, with manager Simon Hollyhead quitting in October after just three months in the job.

Under McDonald, Kettering looked to have turned a corner at the back end of 2025 as they pieced together a run of four matches unbeaten to get themselves into the top 10 of the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central.

But things have gone awry again in the past couple of games, with McDonald's side losing 4-2 at Harborough Town just after Christmas and then 4-1 at fellow mid-table side Leiston in their first fixture of 2026 on Saturday.

McDonald has admitted his side currently has a soft underbelly, but asked if he is feeling any pressure after the pair of heavy defeats, the Poppies boss said: "No, and I have said to the boys there is no pressure.

"These boys come and play football and if they are not at Kettering then they are somewhere else. If I'm not here then I am somewhere else."

Asked to expand on that, McDonald explained: “What I am saying is about pressure on a player. If I let go of a player tonight, he will be at another club on Tuesday, that's what I mean.

"If a manager is managing a club, and you look at Enzo Maresca coming out of Chelsea, by next summer he will be the manager of another football club.

"Football is football, and that's what I mean when I say there is no pressure.

"There are many jobs that have more pressure than this, we are part-time footballers and we love football. The fans haven't put any pressure on us this season, because I think they understand the situation.

"On the flip side, we want to achieve something and to do that we have to make sure we are performing.

"The players are playing for a fantastic football club, and we have to make sure we are better and doing the basics better."

The Poppies are back on home soil on Saturday when they entertain Alvechurch at Latimer Park, and McDonald knows the game is a chance for him and his players to get back on track.

"We are what we are and we know that, we have 17 games to go, there are lots of points to get and we need to bounce back on Saturday,” said the Poppies boss.

"If we had won on Saturday we would have leapfrogged Leiston and would have been maybe five or six points off where we want to be, and where we would love to finish.

"We have a game in hand and we need to make sure we win these games and things are in our hands.

"Until it is not in our hands and we have to rely on everybody else then we keep going.

"Right now, we have probably seven games that are in our hands, and if we go and win all seven then we will be where we want to be.

"If we win five then we will be on the cusp of where we want to be, if we win two or three then it is going to be really hard.

"So we know what we have to do, and if we want to get there then we have to make sure we are performing and scoring."

Quotes courtesy of Peter Short