STEVE KITTRICK: Evo-Stik promotion rivals Gainsborough will give us a tough test

After Gainsborough picked up a 2-1 win at Bamber Bridge on Tuesday night, it certainly makes Saturday's home game against them more interesting.
Steve KittrickSteve Kittrick
Steve Kittrick

It is a big game for them because they are wanting to push their way a bit closer to us, but it is also a big game for us because we want to continue what we are doing.

Gainsborough are a good side with some very good players on their books, they also have a very experienced management team in Lee Sinnott and John Reid on their bench.

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Both have had good careers in the game, I can remember going to see Lee’s Farsley side in the play-off to get into the Conference a few years ago.

Ryan Crossley, who I had at Guiseley, scored the goal to send them up and I was delighted for them.

They will bring a very organised side over to our place and they’ll be looking for revenge after our 1-0 win at their place earlier in the season.

Lee was very magnanimous in defeat after that game, he didn’t make excuses, he just told it how it was, which I think is the right way to go about it.

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We have to keep picking up the points, but we have to make sure that we do that against the teams around us at the top of the table.

This will be a very different challenge to last Saturday’s 2-0 win against Marine.

They were a very competitive side and I think the only thing they really lacked was somebody to put the ball in the back of the net.

We dug in and picked up the win and the clean-sheet, which was important.

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I was impressed with Jamie McGuire on his debut because he came in and barked the orders in the middle of the park, which is maybe something we have been lacking.

Declan Bacon also came on for his debut, he adds more competition to places in attack.

It can make things a bit harder for us to pick the team, but the players are buying into what we are trying to do, which is a massive help.

You only have to take a look at Ross Killock, who did very well on Saturday after a few weeks out of the action.

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Bailey Gooda is available again for this weekend, which gives us another selection headache.

We just have to pick the right team for the game, if players are left out it doesn’t mean I think any less of them because they’ll get their chance.