Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Garforth Town manager Rob Hunter
Rob Hunter admits that it has been hard to give his Garforth Town players motivated in the last five weeks.
Garforth’s 3-1 defeat to Athersley Rec last Saturday was their first competitive game since the 1-0 win over Retford United on February 25th.
“We have played a friendly against the under 21s and we have trained every week and had good numbers,” Hunter told Non League Yorkshire.
“We’ve had 18 or 19 lads every week, but there is only so much you can do. The weather has been atrocious so we have been at the back of the ground in the mud.
“There’s been a number of fitness sessions, there’s been no football barring the friendly with the under 21s. I tried to get friendlies. but everyone in Yorkshire was playing twice a week, except Garforth Town.
“It has been difficult to keep people engaged. All you can do is put great sessions on which (coach) Mark Greaves does.”
The enforced break was caused by one postponement and Cleethorpes Town’s FA Vase semi-final second leg on March 18th. It meant a one week break turned into three Saturday’s.
Although Hunter praised Athersley for their performance, he felt his in-form Garforth side were heavily affected by their recent lack of fixtures.
“It was a disappointing game,” he said.
“I thought Athersley played really well and were set up really well. The big problem for us was the fixtures because they have absolutely killed us.
“How can you have a league with 22 clubs who play in four cups and play 42 league games and you go a whole month without playing a game?
“We play seven games in the final three weeks of the season and we have just gone a month without a game.
“The lads worked hard against Athersley and you couldn’t fault the effort, but didn’t show the kind of form we were producing up until the break we had.
“We had only lost one game in nine and then against Athersley it took us an hour to get going.”
Hunter has previously said that he has his sights set on finishing eleventh. That goal will be hard to achieve as the teams around them have caught up, but Hunter remains optimistic.
“It is going to be tough because we have Cleethorpes to play, Handsworth away, we have Mansfield away next week (tomorrow),” he said.
“We have Bridlington to play so we have some really tough fixtures in our last six games.
“But I believe in this group of lads. We have grown as a unit and as a team. We have some great characters in the dressing room.”
Garforth visit AFC Mansfield tomorrow.
The fixture list this season has been puzzling to say the least , so far we have had midweek trips to Retford , Staveley and Bottesford , admittedly not a million miles away , but far enough on a nightime for people not to able to attend , furthermore we played at Bridlington on a saturday for the first time in 4 years , to only have 1 game in march is crackers , Garforth were winning games and playing well before the enforced break ,to use that overused term , the team had momentum , which was lost after having a month off