Poppies boss Glover wants performances turned into goals

As far as results are concerned, it’s been a mixed bag for Lee Glover’s new-look Poppies side in the very early stages of the Vanarama National League North campaign.

After losing 2-1 at AFC Fylde on the opening day, Kettering followed that up with a 1-1 draw with Bradford (Park Avenue) before seeing off AFC Telford United 2-0 at home last Tuesday night.

But the Poppies were unable to build on that first win of the season as, despite Glover being satisfied with the performance, they lost 1-0 at Curzon Ashton last weekend.

The manager is now looking for his team to turn their chances into goals but that may prove tricky with this Saturday’s opponents Alfreton Town, who have kept three clean sheets in a row, are unbeaten so far and thumped Southport 4-0 last weekend.

“They are a very experienced side in the league,” Glover said of this weekend’s opponents.

“They have got a method and a style of play that they work to and they have some good players in there.

“I’ve watched their recent games and they look a very solid outfit and they’ve had a very good start so it will be an interesting game.

“Last Saturday was the best we have played in terms of passing the ball, movement and being cohesive.

“We just couldn’t get a finish on it at certain times. I’ve watched the game back and I couldn’t be too critical because it was a good performance.

“If we perform at those levels, we will win more than we lose but we have come away very disappointed.

“You feel a bit sick to be honest because you have put in a good performance and taken nothing from it and if we had done, it would have rounded off a good week for us.

“There were many positives to take from the game but we need to make sure that when we are on top in games, we turn that possession into goals.”

The second part of the bank holiday double-header is even more interesting as the Poppies make the trip to take on old rivals Boston United.

The Pilgrims have had a surprisingly slow start under former Kettering manager Paul Cox and sit at the foot of the early standings with just one point from four games in which they have shipped 11 goals.

And while Glover’s first focus is on Alfreton, he believes the Poppies taking on Boston is a big game for everyone to look forward to.

“We are focused on Alfreton but the Boston game is a fantastic one to look forward to,” he added.

“It will be a big crowd and we will have a large following there.

“They have spent money in the summer, they have signed a lot of players and probably have one of the biggest squads in the league.

“At this level, I think it’s as big of a game as you can get.

“We won’t be going there to make the numbers up. We’ll be going to do a job and to be professional and to try to win a game of football.

“If you ignore all the noise that goes with it, it’s still a great bank holiday fixture for everyone to look forward to.”