Holbeach United are set for two very different tests within the space of five days.
That’s the view of boss Seb Hayes, who takes his Tigers to unfancied Oadby Town on Saturday (3pm) before welcoming title hopefuls Yaxley to Carter’s Park on Wednesday (7.45pm).
Having hammered Sleaford Town (6-0) and ON Chenecks (3-0 in the league and 6-1 in the FA Cup) in recent weeks, Hayes is hoping his side will also put youthful Oadby – who parted company with boss Dave Clay on Tuesday – to the sword.
But he admits that Yaxley will be a genuine test of Holbeach’s credentials this season.
“As long as they’ve been in the UCL, Oadby have always been a young side,” said Hayes. “They’ve always looked to play good football, too.
“I’ve seen that their manager was ‘sacked’ this week, so I’m not sure what is going on there.
“We need to go there and impose ourselves and use our experience.
“If we do that, we’ll hurt them. That’s not me being over-confident, as I imagine them being a bit like PNS, who we drew with. We made mistakes that day, both management and players, but I’m confident that won’t happen again.
“Yaxley is a much different test. It’s vital that we give a good account of ourselves there.
“People will look at that game as our first big test, having only played the so-called lesser sides so far.
“Yaxley will be up there come the end of the season, that’s for sure. It’ll be great preparation for our FA Cup game, too.”
Meanwhile, both Hayes and his Tigers are looking forward to next Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup clash with higher-graded Grantham Town. The Holbeach boss was hoping for a home tie against a big fish in the first qualifying round, but reckons playing the Gingerbreads is still an exciting tie.
He added: “We’d have loved Grantham at home! Maybe we can still make that happen, we’re capable of going there and getting a draw, at least.
“We’ll look to do ourselves and the UCL proud in that one, it’s a great tie. Obviously, Grantham is still relatively local – but we’ve not played them competitively for a long time.”
Dan Jenkins and Joe Smith are both missing on Saturday, while Charley Sanders is a doubt.
