Lavery up for the Cup as he urges Poppies to carry league form into St Ives clash

The Poppies have enjoyed an excellent couple of weeks, with three straight wins lifting them up to second place in the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central.

The latest victory saw them deservedly beat leaders Stamford Town at Latimer Park on Tuesday night, and confidence is sky high heading to Cambridgeshire for Saturday's Cup date.

The Poppies also have happy memories of visiting St Ives, as they were 2-1 winners there in the league earlier this month, and the match is a great chance to move to within one more win of reaching the first round proper.

"Our league is the bread and butter, but the FA Cup is a great trophy and we want to stay in that," said Lavery.

"It is good for the club, it is good for the players and also for the fans as well, so I want to go there and get a result.

"Going to St Ives, obviously we have beaten them before this year, and it is on a 3G pitch which we like, so hopefully we will go there and win.

"We have a good following, the fans were great again the other night with almost a 1,000 coming out on a Tuesday, so hopefully they will follow us on Saturday."

One concern for Lavery is the fact his squad is currently being tested to its limits due to injuries, but he accepts that is part and parcel of him wanting to work with a smaller group of players.

"We do have a small squad, and I want to run with a small squad, but it is difficult because when you do pick up two or three injuries it is tough and we need bodies back," he said.

"But we are still winning with the squad we have now, so hopefully when they are all back we will be a force to be reckoned with.

"We might have Wes York back for Saturday as well, so fingers crossed."

The Poppies introduced another new signing in the midweek win over Stamford, and that was former Cobblers, Bolton Wanderers and Watford striker Marvin Sordell.

The 33-year-old made his playing comeback as a second-half substitute after more than four years out, but Lavery accepts he may not be a permanent addition.

"We spoke to him in pre-season and tried to get him on board, but he couldn't commit," said Lavery when asked about Sordell's signing.

"He has come in and helped us out because we were down to the bare bones, so fair play to him.

"He got 20 or 25 minutes and he showed his quality when he came on, you can see has played at a higher level, but I am not too sure about that going forward."

St Ives have endured a mixed campaign so far, winning four and losing four of their eight league games to sit 13th in the Premier Central table.

They were 3-2 winners at Bromsgrove Sporting last weekend.

Quotes courtesy of Peter Short and Kettering Town's YouTube channel