Gladiators look for late season push

Matlock boss Mark Atkins wants his side to put some real daylight between themselves and the relegation haunted clubs with home games on successive Saturdays.

Mid table Nantwich Town are at the Reynolds Stadium this weekend with foot of the table Burscough due in town seven days later.

"They're both very winnable games for us so we've got to go all out for maximum points from two vital games" said Atkins. "I'll be looking for us to build on the momentum from our second half performance in the FC United game when we played very well."

Matlock are currently in fourteenth spot, four points behind eleventh placed Nantwich, but their position is strengthened by a healthy looking goal difference of plus one. The Gladiators are the only side in the bottom half with a positive goal difference.

Nantwich won the reverse fixture by a 2-1 margin at the Weaver Stadium in October and Atkins is well aware of the attacking threat the Dabbers possess, in particular from striker Michael Lennon, a player he has long admired. Last season Atkins labelled Lennon as the second best striker in the league behind former Gladiators crowd favourite Ross Hannah, now with Bradford City.

"Their strikers are a threat so we need to be mindful of that.They're a difficult side to play against and dangerous up front but I feel it's all about how we play on the day. And it was good to hear the home crowd get behind us in the last home game with Rushall. It was probably the first time they'd really chanted loud since the new stand and Social Club opened and we'd like t6hat to continue at future home games. The players have to start out right and show the right attitude, that can get the crowd going, but it makes a huge difference when everyone is pulling in the same direction and it shows what can be achieved."

Atkins may be tempted to give defender Adam Yates a start in midfield on Saturday. The 21 year old had missed the win against Rushall through illness, so was named as a substitute against FC United of Manchester and he was instrumental in a stirring fightback in the second half after replacing Kris Bowler at the interval. Yates provided energy and pace, and it was his pass that fed leading scorer Ian Holmes to halve the Gladiators' two goal deficit with a third of the game still to play.

Matlock, along with Stocksbridge, were without a game last Saturday, the two clubs having already faced each other twice, so Atkins put his side through two good training sessions this week after giving them last Saturday off. He will be hoping that one or two injury and illness niggles have cleared up in time for a game which could see Matlock sneak past a psychological forty points mark with nine matches still to go.

That would make it extremely difficult for the bottom clubs to catch Matlock. Those teams did themselves little good last Saturday when only Buxton and North Ferriby below Matlock won, and Buxton's victory was at Burscough.

The Gladiators will be keen to grab as many points as quickly as possible to achieve a top half finish.