No rest for Kettering Town's players despite fixture-free weekend
Kettering Town may have weekend without a game, but there will be time off for the Poppies players.
Boss Simon Hollyhead has confirmed he and the squad will be for a full training session at Latimer Park on Saturday afternoon, as they look to get things back on track following the last-gasp heartbreak of Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Stamford.
Hollyhead was very unhappy with his team's performance as they failed to see off their rock-bottom visitors, who played out the final third of the match with an outfielder between the sticks following the 63rd-minute dismissal of goalkeeper Tommy Jackson.
Callum Powell did put the Poppies ahead with a 77th-minute strike, but Stamford levelled seven minutes into stoppage time to steal a point, much to the annoyance of Hollyhead.
Kettering are without a game until next Saturday (Oct 4) when they travel to St Ives Town in the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy.
They have sit it out this weekend as it is the third qualifying round of the FA Cup, and the Poppies were knocked out in the last round, losing 2-1 at Quorn.
And it means a lengthy 11-day break between fixtures, which Hollyhead intends to put to full use on the training pitch, both on Saturday and then next midweek as well.
Asked what will be happening this weekend, Hollyhead told Kettering Town's YouTube channel: "The players will be in for full training.
"The loss at Quorn was incredibly frustrating for a number of reasons, and we need to use the opportunity this Saturday in the right way.
"The lads know exactly what I am thinking, and it will be a tough few days.
"It is what happens after this that counts, and I think we saw on Saturday (when Kettering beat Bishop's Stortford 3-1) the benefit of a really good training week where we can get people together. "I now fully expect us to make the most of these next 10 or 11 days with the training sessions we have got, which are already planned.
"We are pleased that we can train on the pitch and we need to raise the stakes."
Despite the frustration of the draw with Stamford, the Poppies remain second in the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central, four points adrift of top dogs Harborough Town.