Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Simon Parkes says Knaresborough Town are moving in the right direction after some great results during October.
Wins over Barton Town, Bottesford Town and Handsworth have put Knaresborough on the cusp of the top ten, a fine achievement considering their tricky start.
Knaresborough now go into tonight’s trip to Winterton Rangers and Friday night’s blockbuster with Golcar United knowing two wins could lift them as high as fifth.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult month,” Parkes told Non League Yorkshire.
“You shouldn’t look too far ahead but we were facing a tough October.
“If you had asked me at the start of October I’d have snapped your hand off for the success rate and points we gained.
“You point out Barton, that was a cracking win and very deserved.
“You look throughout October we have done really well.
“Bottesford are near the bottom but we could have easily put five or six past them.
“It shows how much we have come on over the last four-or-five weeks from where we were at the start of the season.
“You look at the strength and depth of the squad.
“I have a couple of injuries at the moment but because I have depth in the squad they’re quite easily replaced.
“The dressing room is buzzing at the moment and it is a very happy place.
“The lads want to kick on.
“We have Winterton on Wednesday so unfortunately we have two games in quick succession.
“There’s not much recovery time between Wednesday and Friday but that’s where the depth of the squad will come in handy.
“I’ll be able to rotate if needed and who knows where we may be Saturday morning?
“If we pick up a couple of wins it will really push us up the table.”
The 3-2 comeback victory at Handsworth under-lined the progress.
Knaresborough conceded in the fourth and sixth minutes and were facing a long afternoon.
“It was a bit of an electric start so to speak as we went 2-0 down in the opening ten minutes,” he said.
“Once we had a foothold on the game we couldn’t do anything wrong.
“The key was basically to go in at half-time at 2-1 to stay in the game.
“We knew with momentum that coming out for the second half we’d be on the up.
“We knew after the second goal that the win would be there for the taking.
“You look at Handsworth, they are very much a top six team and we out-battled them, out-fought them and took our chances and I think we very much deserved win.”
Knaresborough also had a difficult campaign last season – partly because of injuries – but Parkes is hopeful of really pushing on.
“We have put last season behind us,” he said.
“I do feel we are different levels to last season and we have the personnel which is growing.
“We are where we are because of a poor start to the season but I don’t see us as a bottom half team.
“I see us as a strong top half team contenders and that’s proven from the latest results – beating Barton, Handsworth.
“There’s no reason why we can’t go to a strong opposition in Winterton and take three points again.”