Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Riz Mohammed says destiny remains in Albion Sports’ own hands as the relegation battle continues to throw up twists.
Albion – who visit Sherwood Colliery tomorrow – are in the bottom two as Hemsworth Miners Welfare claimed six points during January to move one point above them.
“With the signings Hemsworth have made, they have a good chance and they’re probably favourites to stay up,” Mohammed told Non League Yorkshire.
“They have brought back players who are used to the club and the culture similarly to what I did at the beginning when I took over at Albion.
“Wayne Benn’s departure at Ossett was the catalyst for that.
“From our point of view, (the relegation battle) is still in our hands.
“I genuinely feel that once we get a couple of results under our belts we’ll kick on from there.
“(The Emley game) was such a big game for us because it was an opportunity to pull Emley into it and maybe Knaresborough into but Emley beat us and Knaresborough got a win against Eccleshill United.
“This league has been absolutely mental.
“You look at Penistone, they were near the bottom at the start of the season and they’ve gone on a good ten, 12 game run and they’re in and around the top six.
“It goes to show in this league if you go on a winning streak eventually you will creep up the table.
“At the moment Emley and Knaresborough are looking over their shoulders but they have a bit more breathing space now.
“I know we have the games-in-hand but it is the points on the board that count.
“At the moment is a two horse race between us and Hemsworth but anything could happen.”
Lack of matches during January hurt Albion who only played twice in the league.
At one stage Albion didn’t play from the 8th January until the League Cup tie with Bottesfod on January 26th.
“(The break) has absolutely killed us,” he said.
“We were on a good run for three or four games but after the Garforth game we started to miss weekends, ten days here and there.
“I don’t know why it has happened and how it has happened but it set us back massively.
“Obviously over the Christmas training facility we use was closed so we weren’t able to train for two weeks.
“At one stage we didn’t have a game for 18 days.
“We didn’t have a game for 18 days and then four in the space of ten?
“How does it make any sense?
“It needs looking at.
“The teams around us have been regularly playing.
“It has had an impact on us because we had Bottesford last week on the Wednesday and then Emley on the Saturday.
“For the Guiseley game I had five or six players who were injured because they aren’t conditioned to be playing two games a week after not playing for 18 days.
“On a positive note it has given us a bit of time for some of the lads who have been injured to get fit.
“For example, Ryan Basi, we sent him out to Step 7 side Field to get a bit of game-time.
“That worked wonders for him.”
Albion go into the Sherwood clash on a high after winning on penalties against National North side Guiseley in the West Riding County Cup.
“We have obviously not had a good run of results but the Eccy game, the Garforth game and the Emley game we have deserved more if we had taken our chances,” Mohammed added.
“We obviously took nothing but the result had been coming because the lads have been playing well so I think we deserved it.
“I know Guiseley mainly put out their academy side but four-or-five have been in and around the first team this season.
“They’re quality players and they were a good side.
“Obviously beating a big club like Guiseley gives the lads confidence.”