Kinniburgh: Decision is needed over the next week

The Poppies’ slipped into the bottom two of the Vanarama National League North for the first time this season after they were beaten 2-0 by Spennymoor Town at Latimer Park.

The first home game in charge for caretaker-managers Kinniburgh and Luke Graham proved to be a tough one as Glen Taylor struck early in both halves while the Poppies’ cause wasn’t helped by the sending off of Northampton Town loanee Jay Williams in the first half.

Kettering are now in big trouble at the wrong end of the table and three of their next four fixtures will be against the trio of teams who are also struggling at the foot.

The first of those is at Curzon Ashton in just under two weeks as the Poppies have no league game next weekend with original opponents Altrincham still involved in the FA Cup.

And Kinniburgh, who hasn’t ruled himself out of being the next permanent boss, believes an appointment will need to be made as soon as possible to give the next manager a better opportunity to build towards that crucial clash.

“We have got to sit down and we have got to make a decision as a football club now on what’s going to happen,” Kinniburgh said.

“If the club want to get someone in then they need to get someone in and make that decision over the next week to give them that opportunity to lead up to the Curzon Ashton game.

“If they are going to say to me that they are going to give it to me for ‘x’ amount of games or until whatever time then they need to do that as well.

“They need to make a decision as a club now that will allow somebody, even myself, to go and make decisions on personnel and make decisions for things going forward.

“I think we have a good team but it has to be better and, as a caretaker, it’s very difficult to chop and change things when you don’t really know what is going to be happening around the corner.”

As far as the defeat to Spennymoor was concerned, Kinniburgh added: “The higher up the leagues you go, the more you will get punished for the little things - the small margins.

“We lost a goal in the first five minutes (of the game) and the first two minutes (of the second half) and those bits change games.

“You can’t give opportunities away. You must mark your man in the box, you can’t allow a free header and a free volley in your own penalty area and in their box, you have to go and take your chances.”

When it came to the sending-off of Williams, Kinniburgh conceded he didn’t have a good enough view of the alleged elbow to make a “judgement”.

But he admitted he was surprised when a similar challenge by a Spennymoor players on Connor Kennedy resulted in only a booking.

“When you are down the bottom, things don’t always go your way,” he said.

“Are they both yellows? Are they both reds? They usually even themselves out but for us they don’t.

“I can’t make a judgement on Jay’s red card. I don’t know if he has followed through on the boy.

“Talking to him, he’s an 18-year-old boy and very honest and he says he has gone up to win the ball and that’s all he was concentrating on.

“Then the Connor one, their boy has made a very similar challenge and has been booked.

“The referee is there to make decisions and you have to accept what happens.”