Ian Dunn admits that Pinchbeck United will have “no chance” of finishing above rivals Deeping Rangers if they don’t win Saturday’s derby at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field (3pm).
The Knights, who slipped down to fifth in the Future Lions UCL Premier Division table after Saturday’s game at Peterborough Northern Star was postponed, haven’t had a fixture since January 26.
In contrast, Deeping haven’t lost in the league since a 4-1 home reverse against Pinchbeck just before Christmas and are now second in the standings.
Dunn would love his promoted Knights to finish as the highest-ranked Lincolnshire side, but accepts that the red-hot Clarets are the league’s in-form side.
He said: “Ideally, we’d have liked to go into this game on a bit of form.
“We’ve been training hard and the lack of games has allowed us to get a few lads fit again, but Deeping have been playing and winning games consistently.
“Whatever happens on Saturday, it’ll be tough for us to finish above Deeping.
“If we lose, there’s no chance of us catching them and a draw wouldn’t really help us do that either.
“I know they haven’t lost in the league since we beat them, so from our point of view getting something from the game would be a feather in our cap.
“To take four or six points from Deeping in our first season in this league would be a good return.
“It’s the kind of game that we need to do better than just work hard. We need to suck it up, show our quality and get on the front foot.
“Deeping often start games well and we have to be wary of that on Saturday.
“That doesn’t mean that we’ll not be going for the win, we believe we’re capable.”
Whatever happens on Saturday, Pinchbeck will have to do it without the services of left-sider Tyler Wright – who has decided to walk away from the club.
Wright played a huge role in Pinchbeck’s rise from the ChromaSport PDFL Premier Division all the way up to the UCL Premier Division and picked up two awards at the club’s end of season bash following their UCL Division One title win last season.
Dunn, who revealed that Wright wasn’t enjoying his football, admits that he’s both disappointed and sad to lose one of his key players at this stage of the season.
“Tyler has said that he’s not enjoying his football,” said the player/boss. “I don’t really understand why.
“I’m disappointed that he’s decided to walk away with about a quarter of the season left, it’s not the best timing.
“Tyler has been a great player for us and I genuinely believe that he could play higher if he put his mind to it.
“I don’t think he actually knows how good he is, that’s the sad thing. We’ll miss him, he’s been a massive part of what we’ve achieved here. But there’s nothing we can do to keep him, sadly.”
Pinchbeck were hoping to hand a debut to former Boston United and Matlock Town midfielder Harry Vince, after sealing a deal for him last week. However, the past England C international isn’t ready to feature.
The Knights are also without key defender Nick Jackson, who is at a wedding.
Deeping are on a run of ten league wins on the spin and are 16 points clear of Pinchbeck in the table after Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Desborough Town having played three games more.
