Tough Good Friday test opens up a pivotal Easter weekend for Glover’s Poppies

And while many of a Poppies persuasion may already have eyes on Monday’s showdown with relegation rivals Leamington, boss Lee Glover insists there are plenty of reasons for his team to put on a show at the Walks tomorrow.

The last time Kettering were on that ground, they were thrashed 6-1 by the Linnets in the FA Cup.

It's a result and performance that still irks Glover now but, more importantly, there are crucial points on the line as the Poppies fight for survival in the Vanarama National League North.

The plot thickened in the battle to avoid relegation in midweek as Farsley Celtic beat Brackley Town 2-1 to move level on 46 points with Kettering.

They are both four clear of the drop-zone with Leamington currently occupying the final relegation slot with Blyth Spartans just behind them on goal difference.

King’s Lynn are still in the hunt for the title but it’s been a strange week for them as boss Tommy Widdrington stunned them by resigning after last weekend’s 1-0 win at Chorley to take over at National League side Aldershot Town.

And Glover insists Widdrington’s departure changes little from his team’s point of view.

“It happens in football,” the Poppies boss said.

“Did it surprise me? A little bit but Aldershot are a big club and they will probably have a chance of getting out of the league they’re in and possibly moving up a level. I am sure that was part of the lure.

“I was a little bit surprised but it’s far from a shock because these things are going on all the time.

“It certainly doesn’t change the fact that we are in for a very tough game.

“We have been a bit more resilient recently and I felt we probably deserved a win out of the last few draws because we were in the ascendancy in some of them.

“To be honest, I just want us to go there and give a better account of ourselves than we did in the FA Cup game.

“That still hurts. I know we were depleted and patching people up but your pride still hurts.

“We understand the situation and Tommy leaving adds another edge to what was already going to be an interesting afternoon.”

Following Widdrington’s departure, King’s Lynn appointed Mark Hughes as their new interim manager and he insists it will be business as usual for their clash with the Poppies.

"The players were all shocked about what happened at the weekend," Hughes, who racked up 600 appearances in his playing career, told the Lynn News.

"They called their own little meeting because they are a tight-knit group and I spoke to them beforehand but there were no big speeches.

"I'm just a different voice, but it's the same message as before.”