Big day ahead: Duncan Bray (left) and Nick Handley (right) are on the brink of leading Pontefract Collieries back to the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
The task is plain and simple for Pontefract Collieries: win at Lincoln Moorlands Railway and they’re going up to the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division.
However, joint manager Duncan Bray has warned his players not to under-estimate Lincoln ahead of judgement day tomorrow.
Three points will lift Pontefract back up to the Premier Division for the first time since 2000 and also move them within six points of the Division One title.
Nick Handley and Bray are determined to take top spot as well as promotion, but overcoming Lincoln, who they beat 12-2 in January, is the first objective.
“The message is just never take anything for granted,” Bray told Non League Yorkshire.
“We want to win the next three and set a new league record for the total number of points.
“That’s the challenge. To beat Lincoln and then worry about Hallam and Mansfield.
“It would be nice to win tomorrow afternoon and get promotion because it will take the pressure off us.
“Ultimately I want us to win all the last three games.
“But, we have done well to get to this position as it did look like it would go right to the wire.
“These five games that we have won on the spin, there were some really tricky games and we have come through them.
“Looking at what teams have been promoted in the past, we would have been promoted a few games ago in previous seasons.
“It goes to show how tough it has been in the top six this season.
“We have got to where we are because of the way we have been performing in the last 38 games. We just need to finish the job.
“But, if we go and under-perform we can easily get beat. We can’t count our chickens because when we have done in the past we have under-performed.”
Handley and Bray are still fairly new to management having only replaced Brendan Ormsby in December 2012 in the Pontefract hot-seat.
The pair are on the verge of completing a mission that Ormsby and the other previous incumbent Simon Houghton set out on and failed to deliver.
Bray says it down to the players and he is full of praise for them.
“This is mine and Nick’s second season in charge,” he said.
“In the first we were finding our feet and we made some mistakes.
“We knew this season if we got the lads in we wanted that we would have a really good go.
“I’ve won promotion out of the NCEL into the Evo Stik and won cup doubles in the NCEL.
“But, if we do it as a manager in only my second year would be extra special, considering the group of players we have got together.
“We look strong in every position and we have cover for every position. We have 18 players who are a special bunch.”
Pontefract are boosted by the return of top goalkeeper Craig Parry, who returns to the side after missing the magnificent midweek win at Hemsworth Miners Welfare.
Just give it total concentration Ponte. and the promotion is done & dusted, then we can go into the last two games with the confidence to finish up champions. UTC.