Toolstation NCEL Division One
Mick O’Connell says Harrogate Railway are entering a make-or-break period which could define their season.
Railway visit struggling Swallownest tomorrow and that fixture is followed by clashes with Worsbrough Bridge, Glasshoughton Welfare, Ollerton Town, Selby Town, Hallam and unbeaten leaders North Ferriby.
“I’ve said to the lads that in this league you can’t afford to lose because if you drop points, all of a sudden you can from fifth to eighth overnight,” O’Connell told Non League Yorkshire.
“All the teams in and around us are right behind us and it is quite competitive and quite tight.
“Worsbrough are doing well, so are Retford.
“Selby have kicked on again and doing really well so there is a lot of teams vying for that fifth spot.
“We have a tough run coming up and by the end of January we’ll have a fair idea of whether we can sustain the challenge to pick up that fifth spot or whether we’ll fall short.
“We have to be really good and really on it between now and the end of January.
“That’s the message to the players.
“We can’t afford to have any slip-ups.
“We can’t afford to have an off-day.
“Swallownest will be a tough game, Worsbrough will be.
“Glasshoughton is never an easy place to go and I have a lot of respect for the guys who manage Glasshoughton because they’re doing it on a shoestring and they know how to win games.
“We have Ollerton who are a difficult team to play against.
“Then we ride into January and we have Selby, Hallam and North Ferriby so it is going to be six weeks where we’re going to have to keep slogging results out.
“If we have a poor run to Christmas and then drop six points out of nine in January then I would say we would be well and truly out of the running for the play-offs.”
Wing wizard Rob Youhill made his long-awaited return for Railway last month in the goal-less draw at Hall Road Rangers.
He has since made one start and two substitute appearances and O’Connell says his summer marquee signing is not yet fully fit.
“It has taken him a bit of time to get to top speed,” he said.
“He was going to start on Tuesday against Steeton but that was postponed.
“We’re picking our moments with Rob.
“We can’t throw him in for 90 minutes every week, we have to build him up.
“Hopefully by the turn of the year he’ll be back up to full speed.”
Youhill was one of a great number of Railway players on the treatment table at the beginning of the season.
Railway’s injury woes have eased but several clubs in the NCEL has suffered huge injury issues – Armthorpe Welfare, Knaresborough Town and Nostell Miners Welfare are three examples.
O’Connell reckons the lockdowns are the main cause.
“It is hard to pinpoint,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to our physio Liam (Chapman) and he seems to think it is (down to the lockdowns).
“Although people were out doing running by themselves, it was running in straight lines.
“It is not football related and when you start introducing football running such as twisting and turning and high intensity running, it puts a lot of pressure on your body when you haven’t done it for so long.
“I personally would put it down to the lockdowns.
“I’ve never known so many injuries.
“Everyone you speak to is crippled with injuries.
“When we played Rainworth at home, their manager said he had 12 first team lads injured.
“It is crazy.”