Danny keeps his calm
Hungerford Town boss Danny Robinson isn’t feeling the pressure ahead of his side’s relegation six-pointer against local rivals Chippenham on Saturday.
The Bluebirds, who are managed by former Crusaders player Gary Horgan, will arrive at Bulpit Lane eight points above Hungerford in the National League South and in 20th, the last remaining survival spot towards the bottom of the league.
If Hungerford are to maintain their slim chances of survival, they’ll surely have to get one over their Wiltshire rivals, who beat the Crusaders 1-0 in the reverse fixture in August.
And Robinson is upbeat despite his side’s 3-1 defeat to Eastbourne Borough at the weekend, saying the Crusaders played some of their best football all season at Priory Lane.
"It was the best performance we've had down there since I've been manager," he said.
"We let ourselves down with a few mistakes and we didn't take our chances again, but I was proud of how well we played.
"We didn't quite get that little bit of luck, one of their goals has gone in off their players backside and that just about sums it up."
Robinson is in no doubt about the enormity of Saturday's game but the boss is confident his side can handle the occasion and use the home crowd to their advantage.
He said: "Our record against Chippenham isn't great, I think we've won one from four since I've been here.
"This one's about more than just the players, it's the one the supporters look for when the fixtures come out in the summer, we want to put on a performance for them.
"We know the importance of the game, we want to keep up our good home form, not many teams relish coming to Bulpit Lane.
"We're in a far better place than when we went there in the summer, it's really about who performs best on the day."
Robinson will be able to call on the services of new recruits Luke Delaney and Dylan Adjei-Hersey but will be without fellow January signing Alfie Saunders, who has signed for Thatcham Town on a dual-registration following a trial at Queen of the South in Scotland.
"Luke's had National League North experience and we've got high hopes he can succeed at this level, most definitely," he said.
"Dylan's a talented player but we think he's lacking a bit of match fitness, there's no doubt he's capable.
"Alfie's had a trial at Queen of the South where they've said he needs to be playing regular games, so he's decided to sign on dual-registration with Thatcham to get games under his belt."
A win on Saturday would secure Hungerford local bragging rights and move them to within five points of Chippenham – a huge game, then, but like Robinson says "diamonds are made under pressure".
