Positive Pinchbeck United player/boss Ian Dunn believes that his side are now showing what they are truly capable of in the Future Lions UCL Premier Division.
The Knights, who have achieved back-to-back promotions from the ChromaSport PDFL Premier Division and UCL Division One, are in the race for a top four finish in their first-ever season at Step Five of the non-league ladder.
Dunn has also steered his side to a maiden Hinchingbrooke Cup final, meaning they could end the season with a trophy to add to their impressive league performance.
But the former Spalding United and Holbeach United striker insists that his side are only now finding top gear – as last Saturday’s huge 7-0 success over ON Chenecks proved.
He said: “We look a well-polished UCL Premier Division side now. It’s taken a while and plenty of tweaks to get there, but we’re in a great position squad-wise now.
“We’ve come a long way in a short period of time, so it was vital that we added UCL experience to the squad over the season.
“We’re now beginning to reap the rewards and that experience is key to our improvement. The 7-0 win was our best performance of the season and, to be honest, it had been coming.
“We’ve got a difficult run-in left and obviously that cup final, but we’re now full of confidence and don’t really fear anybody. We’ll certainly keep pushing to try and get into that top four if we possibly can.”
Next up for the Knights are two testing away fixtures within the space of four days, as they visit Eynesbury Rovers on Saturday (3pm) and Peterborough Northern Star on Tuesday (7.45pm).
Seventh-placed Rovers picked up an eye-catching 4-3 victory at second-placed Rugby Town on Saturday, with Dunn admitting that they are capable of beating any side in the league on their day.
He’s likely to give the team that demolished Chenecks a chance to impress once again, but admits that rotation will be necessary for the Tuesday night showdown with Star.
He added: “Eynesbury got a very good result on Saturday. They’re also the only team to beat (leaders) Daventry Town in the league.
“So we have to respect them. The best version of Eynesbury can obviously beat anybody, but the league table would suggest that they struggle with consistency.
“We need to go there and back ourselves. It’ll be hard for me to make any changes, a team that wins 7-0 deserves to go again. Nobody performed badly or deserves to be dropped.
“We’ve got a good squad here and I’ll be making changes for the Tuesday game, but for now I’m pleased to have this kind of selection problem on my hands.”
Jason Field started last weekend’s win, but was forced off with a groin strain. Andrew Tidswell, who returned from a lengthy absence in the Sir Halley success, is also fit enough to start if required. New Lincoln City loan signing Jon Smith, who debuted as a second-half sub, is also likely to be in the squad.
