Others will have to ‘step up’ in the absence of Poppies skipper Stohrer

The Poppies skipper was sent-off for two bookable offences in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Chester at Latimer Park, which means he will be suspended for the final-day showdown at Aggborough.

Kettering go into the game knowing if they can match or better the result of Blyth Spartans when they host Hereford then they will secure another season in the Vanarama National League North.

There are other scenarios in play depending on how results shape up but, either way, the Poppies will have to do it without talisman Stohrer and boss Lee Glover admits his absence will mean others will have to “step up”.

“Gaz is a massive loss, there’s no getting away from that,” the Poppies boss said.

“But somebody has to take up the mantle, somebody has to be the driving force and leader in the middle of the pitch for us,

“We all understand that we need to focus on the game without him and somebody will need to step up.”

One bit of good news for the Poppies, however, is that on-loan striker Jimmy Knowles looks set to be fit for the last day of the season.

Knowles started against Chester but was withdrawn at half-time due to illness.

And Glover added: “Jimmy will be fine.

“We asked him to try it last weekend. He tried it and it didn’t work out.

“He had a little bit of a virus so his energy levels were very low but he trained on Tuesday and he will be okay.”