Big freeze could cause us problems - Attfield

Crows boss hoping weather improves soon

ROYSTON TOWN manager Paul Attfield is hoping the recent adverse weather doesn’t last too much longer as it could have implications on the Crows’ title aspirations over the coming months.

As well as the all-important league schedule, Attfield’s team are still competing in five cup competitions, and with recent games falling foul of the freezing conditions it could cause an unwelcome backlog of fixtures that will stretch the squad to its limit.

And the Crows boss says he will have to utilise the full depth of his squad in order to cope with the anticipated accumulation of games.

“You expect it at this time of year, but in our position with all the cup games going on we could really do without it going on for too much longer,” Attfield told the Royston Crow.

“If we keep getting games called off it could cause us problems later on, and although we’ve been used to having a pile up of games in recent seasons, we haven’t been in five cup competitions at this stage before, so it’s going to take some careful planning and management to make sure we are ready for every game.”

Royston are due to face strugglers Holmer Green on Saturday, although with temperatures predicted to remain below freezing for the majority of the next five days it looks increasingly unlikely the fixture will go ahead. Tuesday night’s Herts Senior Cup quarter-final against Oxhey Jets has been rearranged for Wednesday, February 15, just 24 hours after the Crows travel to St Neots for their Hinchingbrooke Cup Round One tie.

And while he admits having two cup matches in the build-up to next Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash with Dunstable Town at Garden Walk is far from perfect, Attfield says he is not putting any extra emphasis on the match, insisting every game is equally important.

“It’s not ideal but I wouldn’t say the match is any bigger than any other league game,” he said. “If you look at just one game more than any others and you lose it, it can cause problems. I don’t want it to come across as a big game. Dunstable will probably come here thinking they need to win.”

Below Dunstable Town sit AFC Dunstable on the same points total as their rivals, and Attfield believes it is AFC who perhaps provide the biggest threat to Royston’s promotion aim. “You would say it’s probably between the three of us, and our game in hand [on both teams] could be crucial,” he added. “AFC are the form team at the moment with 11 wins in a row so they are definitely a threat.”