Injured captain Steve Chambers has vowed to do everything in his power to ensure his Acklam team-mates seize the initiative in the Durham and North Two promotion race.
Third-placed Acklam are the only Teesside club in first-team action this weekend, as they travel to Bishop Auckland in a rearranged game that fell victim to the weather before Christmas.
Last weekend saw Acklam close the gap on promotion rivals Redcar to six points, and a win on the road tomorrow could see the Teesside duo separated by only one point.
Despite Chambers missing the rest of the season with a hand injury, he still hopes to be a positive influence and swing the promotion pendulum back in Acklam’s favour.
“This will be the longest I’ve ever been out through injury,” Chambers said. “I’ve had a few frustrating knocks but this will be the longest.
“I’m still coming to terms with that but I want to do the best I can to help the lads in training and in the changing room.
“I think everyone is now stepping up and taking on that leadership responsibility.”
Acklam picked up a valuable victory at Barnard Castle last weekend on the same day that Redcar, who are in pole position for promotion alongside runaway leaders Ponteland, slipped to a shock defeat.
That means Acklam could crank up the pressure on the Seasiders with a win at Bishop Auckland - but Chambers admitted the team are focusing on one match at a time.
“Last week was a bit of a double-edged sword. We didn’t play too well but won ugly, and none of us were thinking about promotion at that stage”, he said.
“It was only when we got back into the changing room when we saw the other results and realised that Redcar had lost.
“But we just need to focus on ourselves. We’re missing quite a few players tomorrow due to it being a rearranged fixture, and Bishop Auckland have been picking up some good results recently.
“There’s plenty to play for and we need to go and do the best we can tomorrow. Then everything else between now and the end of the season will unfold.”
Acklam have passed on their thoughts and best wishes to Redcar after a fire ripped through their Mackinlay Park changing rooms on Tuesday evening.
Four changing rooms, plus the bath and shower areas, were badly damaged after the electric mains cupboard caught fire. A clear-up operation is being carried out by the club’s supporters.
No comments:
Post a Comment