Lavery keen to strengthen Kettering Town squad as he’s ‘down to bare bones’

Lavery felt he was ‘down to the bare bones’ for the Poppies’ derby date with Harborough Town on Bank Holiday Monday, a match that saw the visitors snatch a 1-1 draw with a controversial late penalty.

And as the Kettering boss prepares his troops for Saturday’s FA Cup first qualifying round clash with Stafford Rangers at Latimer Park, he says he’ll be adding numbers to the squad,

"I was probably down to the bare bones on Monday, and I am not going to make excuses, but I did have a couple of key players missing,” said Lavery.

"Would they have made a difference? You just don't know, but I was limited on the bench.

"I have got to strengthen the squad over the next week or two, and I will be doing that.”

Stafford Rangers will arrive in Kettering off the back of a double-winning weekend.

They first saw off Long Eaton United in the FA Trophy, before claiming a first Pitching-In Nothern Premier League West Division win of the season at Hanley Town on Monday.

The trip to Kettering is will be Stafford’s fifth in a row on the road.

Rangers currently sit third bottom in their league, with four points from four matches.

Meanwhile, former Poppies loanee Michael Reindorf made his first competitive start for Cardiff City in their 5-3 Carabao Cup defeat against Premier League Southampton on Tuesday night.

Reindorff spent the second half of last season on loan at Latimer Park from Norwich City.

He left the Canaries to sign for Cardiff in the summer.