Lewis Thorogood admits that Pinchbeck United might not like the look of the Uhlsport UCL Premier Division North table on Saturday night.
The Knights face the daunting task of hosting league leaders Long Eaton United on Saturday (3pm), with the visitors having not lost a league game in two seasons.
At the same time Selston, who are a point and a place behind 16th-placed Pinchbeck with four games in hand in the 18-team division, host rock bottom Holbeach United.
Thorogood knows there’s a good chance his side will be in the drop zone again after this latest round of fixtures, but has challenged his side to rise to the occasion against a Long Eaton side he calls “champions elect”.
“We have to be realistic,” admitted the Knights chief. “This is a team that haven’t lost a league game in two years.
“They are champions elect this season and everyone will expect them to come to our ground and win.
“For us, we need to show desire and be difficult to beat, as they seem to be dismantling everybody they face with little effort.
“But they’ve got to lose some time, so we need to be in the position to capitalise if the chance arises.
“Obviously, we’ll have an eye on the result between Selston and Holbeach too.
“It’s likely that Selston will win, if you look at the form book, so we have to be prepared for dropping down a place.
“We’re mentally prepared for the battle of staying up and if we’re back in the relegation zone on Saturday night, so be it.
“We’ve said that every game from now on in to the end of the season is a cup final and we’ll have to have that attitude again.”
Pinchbeck have a full squad available for the game, providing they all came through Wednesday night’s friendly game at Bourne Town.
