Nunn’s rallying call as Diamonds gear up for a ‘massive’ clash at the bottom

Diamonds take on Stratford Town at Hayden Road on Saturday and a quick glance at the Southern League Premier Central table tells you all you need to know.

Diamonds are bottom and 11 points adrift of safety with 17 games to go.

Stratford are third from bottom and just four points clear of Nunn’s men, although they have played two games less.

It’s not quite a case of ‘do or die’ for Diamonds but it’s pretty close to it.

And the importance of the 90 minutes in front of his team isn't lost on the manager as he feels there is no other option than for both sides to go all out for the three points.

“Saturday is massive, there’s no point playing it down,” Nunn said.

“It’s a big game. We have got to try to win every game we play. I guess, realistically, that isn’t going to happen but this is one where we have got to give it everything we have got.

“So, for any Rushden fans out there, we are going to need them on Saturday.

“Rallying cries are sometimes used too often in football but, for me, this is probably one of the club’s biggest games at Step 3.

“We can’t underestimate how important it is.

“Some people have said to me ‘if you lose on Saturday, does that mean you’re down?’

“No, it doesn’t mean we’re down but we’re also not going to be safe if we win. We certainly stand more chance if we win, obviously.

“It’s just a very important game and I want to make sure we are as prepared as we can be and we are ready to give it absolutely everything.

“Nothing other than getting a win will be on our minds. We need to cut out individual errors, try to be on the front foot and make sure we come off the pitch with no regrets.

“We shouldn’t forget it’s a massive game for Stratford as well.

“They are one of the teams in there with us and we are only four points behind them.

“They know it’s one they have got to win and other teams in and around us will be hoping it’s a draw.

“It might not be a game of the highest quality but I think there will be a lot of passion out there.

“Both teams have to go out and try to win, there’s not really any other option.”

Diamonds, like many, have seen their schedule hit by the sub-zero temperatures with last weekend’s trip to Bromsgrove Sporting and Tuesday night’s home game with Basford United both called off due to frozen pitches.

It means Diamonds fans have had to wait to see what is set to be a new-look side after an influx of signings over the past couple of weeks.

“We were disappointed our games were off this week but we managed to have a friendly last Saturday behind closed doors, which was good,” Nunn added.

“It was a chance to get everyone together and it took a while to get going with a number of new faces in there so it was good to get that out of the way.

“We will have some new bodies in there on Saturday and we will have to make sure they are prepared.”