Sandy says Diamonds will be ready for Barwell test despite quick turnaround
AFC Rushden & Diamonds boss Elliot Sandy says his players will be ready for a second match in the space or a little more than 48 hours when they open their Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division campaign on Monday night.
Diamonds got their competitive season off to a winning start as they were 5-0 FA Cup winners at Kimberley Miners Welfare on Saturday, and they will now look to build on that when they head to Barwell (ko 7.45pm).
It is a quick turnaround for the Hayden Road outfit, but thanks to being 5-0 after just 47 minutes on Saturday, Sandy was able to rotate his squad and ensure key men were not overworked.
"With the bodies we had, we always said that if we get the opportunity then we wanted to rest some lads before Monday," Sandy told @AFRCD.
"We were look after our team, because with so many games coming up Saturday-Monday, Saturday-Tuesday, we need to do that.
"We also have bodies coming back for Monday, so we have no excuses.
"We feel we have built a really good squad, and we have a really good togetherness."
Barwell began their league campaign on Saturday, and were beaten 1-0 at home by Basford United.
But Sandy is reading nothing into that, as he said: "It is going to be a really tough game at Barwell, despite their result on Saturday.
"That was a really tight game against another team that is expected to be up the top end of the league."