Farnborough FC

Spencer Day hopes Boro won't be caught cold

By Jon Couch
January 24, 2013

SPENCER DAY fears recent postponements may have left his Farnborough side under-prepared for an unenviable fixture pile-up which includes a gruelling double-header inside three days.

Day’s men make the trip to under-achieving big spenders Eastleigh on Saturday before hosting runaway league leaders Salisbury City at Cherrywood Road on Tuesday night.

But play-off pushing Boro will lock horns with the Blue Square South big guns while lacking in game time, after last Saturday's visit of Bath City and Tuesday night’s trip to Dorchester City both fell victim to the recent cold snap.

While Eastleigh have also had their last two games wiped out by the weather, Salisbury managed to get their home game with Staines Town played on Saturday, resulting in a 3-1 win and a subsequent nine-point lead at the top of the table.

Despite Eastleigh’s current lowly league position – and the fact Boro beat them 6-2 in the reverse fixture back in October – Day clearly still sees Richard Hill’s men as potential promotion candidates in one of the tightest Blue Square South races seen in many a year.

And although the Boro boss accepted the wintery conditions may act as a leveller, he admitted he would have ideally liked more match fitness in the legs before making the trip to the Silverlake.

“Eastleigh away and Salisbury at home are, arguably, two of the three toughest games of the season,” Day explained.

“Unfortunately, as it has turned out, we go into them having not played in two weeks and we are subsequently not as sharp as I would have liked us to have been.

“We ended Eastleigh’s unbeaten home record last season and we are going to need another performance of that ilk on Saturday.

"They are a top side with excellent players and a big budget so we go there as massive underdogs.

“But we proved in October we can score goals against them and I’m confident that if we can perform well we can beat anyone in this division.”

Despite failed attempts to clear snow off the pitch in time for the weekend visit of Bath, Boro’s players were in sporting action at Cherrywood Road on Saturday – both on the oche and the pool tables.

Many of Day’s squad stayed on at the club to take on supporters in a darts and pool marathon to help ease the financial burden of another takings loss through the turnstiles.

Day admitted last week that a postponement of the match may have forced him to let go of two more first-team players. But the squad was still intact this week, leaving Day hopeful of making the trip down the M3 on Saturday at full-strength.

The boss added: “I’d like to thank the fans and the players for an enjoyable afternoon and for helping the club make a few quid. But the fact remains we are still in grave danger.”

The Dorchester Town match has been re-arranged for Tuesday March 12, while the Bath City home game will now take place, subject to league confirmation, on Tuesday February 5.

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