Mills will bid to lift his Steelmen for a crucial period

The Steelmen take on Ashton United at Steel Park on Saturday in what will be the first of four home matches in the space of 11 days.

Clashes with Coalville Town, Barwell and Rushall Olympic quickly follow on and once those games have been played, Corby will be just one game shy of the halfway mark of their Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Premier Division season.

There has been no honeymoon period for Mills since he replaced Tommy Wright in the Steel Park hotseat.

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Workington was Corby’s ninth loss in their last 10 league matches and they sit at the foot of the table, seven points adrift of safety.

And Mills knows he and assistant-manager David Bell have some work to do to have their team ready for a key part of the campaign.

“It’s a huge period coming up,” the Steelmen boss said.

“At the moment, there is a real lack of confidence throughout the squad.

“It’s up to me and David to pick them up and ensure we are ready for next weekend.

“We have four home games in a row and we have to try to pick up some points and then see where it can take us from there.”