Smiling assassin fears nobody

Skelmersdale United manager Tommy Lawson insists his side fear nobody this Christmas after booking their place in the last 16 of the FA Trophy.

Lawson's side have lost just two games in 2012 and travel to Conference Premier Luton in the New Year in one of the biggest games in the club's recent history a bid to reach competition's last eight.

November's Evo-Stik NPL First Division North Manager of the Month ranks their Second Round 2-0 win over Guiseley as among the best since he joined the club and believes their success can only help their league challenge - as long as they can stay fully focused over a busy Christmas period.

Lawson, pictured, said: "We don’t fear anyone at the moment, you could see that against Boston and against Guiseley. There’s a great feeling within the group that we can beat teams, and that’s great for us.

"It was up there among the best in my time at the club. Our discipline was absolutely superb, against a very good side. We were patient, we defended well, and when we introduced a bit of pace later in the game, we had enough about us to go and get the win. It couldn’t have gone much better.”

Lawson though, is not looking too far ahead, with some big league fixtures to come after their recent giant-killing exploits.

"It’s easy to get carried away, but we have other priorities before then," he insisted. "It’s the biggest draw we could have hoped for, and an exciting prospect for everyone at the club, but we haven’t really discussed it with the players yet. We won’t look too far ahead."

Skem continued their epic run - only Garforth Town and Tadcaster have beaten them this calendar year - with a 5-1 win over Tranmere Rovers in the Liverpool Senior Cup quarter finals last Tuesday and Lawson is preparing for their Boxing Day derby clash with Burscough.

He added: "We’re looking forward to that. It’s great for the town. It’s been a long time since we had a Skem verus Burscough derby and I am sure plenty of people will be looking to get out and get a bit of fresh air after the Christmas festivities.

"What better place to go than to watch a good local derby match? Burscough are improving. Derek [Goulding] has slowly but surely got them playing the way he wants, and they are hard to beat. But so are we!"