Lowly league position does not faze Poppies boss Le Masurier

​The Poppies sit fourth bottom and in the relegation zone of the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central, and they are four points adrift of safety ahead of Saturday’s trip to Stourbridge (ko 3pm).

They have lost their past three games, conceding 12 goals and scoring just one in the process, and on Saturday face something of a relegation six-pointer against a team two places and four points above them.

If it's not must-win, then it is certainly must-not-lose for the Poppies, although Le Masurier insists he is quite relaxed about the situation the club finds itself in with more than half of the season played.

And that's because he believes time is still on Kettering's side.

"It's not just this match at Stourbridge, every game at the moment is difficult and prominent," said Le Masurier.

"There are nearly 60 points up for grabs still, there are a lot of points there, and we just need to get the group postively ready for Saturday.

"We will definitely be giving our all each week, and at the moment I am not worried as far as where we sit, because there are a lot ofpoints up for grabs.

"I would be more worried if we had the same performance on Saturday as we had at St Ives, but there is still a lot more work to do. Hopefully we will start to see things improve soon."

The Poppies go into the match at Stourbridge off the back of a 4-0 loss at leaders Needham Market, which was their first outing since the 6-0 humiliation at St Ives on Boxing Day.

Le Masurier believes he saw good signs for the first hour at Needham, but knows his players need to produce more, or the Poppies fans can expect to see new faces added to the squad in the coming weeks.

"There are obviously going to be squad movements, and if things continue as they are then there are going to have to be more changes,” he said.

"We have said to the players that losing games isn't acceptable regardless of who you play.

"We can't be in a position where we accept losing, we have to go out and fight for everything.

"Even if it is scrappy, even if it is ugly, we need some fighters, so they have to show that endeavour against Stourbridge."

Interview: Peter Short