Poppies must restore some ‘pride’ as they take on unbeaten leaders

A tough week for the Poppies got off to a bad start as a poor first-half display saw them fall 3-0 behind to Kidderminster by half-time on Saturday.

That was how the scoreline remained as Kettering slipped to their fifth defeat of the season in the Vanarama National League North.

Glover’s team are now without a win in the last six league games and sit in the bottom three as they get ready for another huge test this evening as they take on unbeaten league leaders King’s Lynn Town at Latimer Park.

The Linnets have made a flying start and drew 1-1 at Curzon Ashton at the weekend to keep their unbeaten record intact.

The two clubs will meet again at The Walks in the third qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday but, for the time being, it’s league points at stake and Glover knows his team can’t afford to produce another display like the one they did at the weekend.

The Poppies boss said: “The first thing we will need to say to them (the players) is ‘have you got any pride?’

“If they have any pride then they won’t want to perform like they did in the first half-hour on Saturday.

“The second thing is that the boys have to get round each other and push each other.

“Someone like Gary Stohrer is great for us with that sort of thing but I see others going into their shell at times.

“You can’t play at home against a team like Kidderminster and pick out a couple of players you feel you have done well, if that’s the case then you are going to get beaten.”

The Poppies are set to be without the injured Harry Reilly while Lewis White missed Saturday’s defeat due to illness and could come back into the squad.