Lavery says Poppies 'will stick in there' as they gear up for 'twists and turns' of title race
Richard Lavery insists he and his players 'will stick in there' amidst 'the twists and turns' as Kettering Town gear up for the nine games that will make or break their title challenge in the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central.
The Poppies travel to fourth-from-bottom Lowestoft Town on Saturday (ko 3pm), desperate to bounce back from last weekend's shock 3-2 home defeat at the hands of mid-table St Ives.
And they will have to do it without key man Isiah Noel-Williams, who this week made the surprise decision to leave the club and sign for Northern Premier League side Matlock Town.
That is hardly ideal preparation for such a crucial game.
Kettering went into the St Ives clash last weekend knowing a win would see them regain top spot, but they threw away a 2-1 lead in the closing minutes to lose and stay second, two points behind top dogs Bedford Town.
It was a desperately disappointing afternoon with Lavery admitting the defeat was 'hard to take', but insists he and his players are going to be ready for the title challenge ahead.
"There are going to be loads of twists and turns yet," Lavery told the Kettering Town YouTube channel. "Even if we had taken three points on Saturday, there will still be twists and turns between now and the end of the season.
"We will drop points, Bedford will drop points, other teams will drop points.
"Saturday was an opportunity thrown away, we needed the three points, not one, and we have come away with no points.
"But we will regroup this week, and then hopefully go to Lowestoft and get the win.
"We need to be getting three points away from home now, if we had won on Saturday you might have gone there and said you'd be happy with a point, but I need three points now.
"I will be putting the heat on the lads to go and do that at the weekend.
"We still have enough in that changing room, and nothing was ever going to be won or lost on Saturday, we still have nine games to go.
"Nobody is more disappointed than me and I found Saturday hard to take.
"I have said my piece but I will pick the lads up again, there are nine to go, 27 points to play for, and we will stay in there.
"The league is anybody's to take, and it is all about who holds their nerve. We didn't do that on Saturday, but we will stick in there."