Fuller turns focus on promotion bid
DAVENTRY Town's match at Bourne on Saturday was one of half-a-dozen UCL Premier Division games called off leading manager Ady Fuller to threaten to abandon the quest for a League-Cup double in favour of an all-out bid to gain promotion to the Southern League next season.
At the weekend a despondent Fuller said that if Tuesday night's UCL KO Cup semi-final did not go ahead at Newport Pagnell then he was all in favour of conceding the tie.
"We just don't want any more fixtures," he claimed before adding that the League Cup and NFA Senior Cup final against Corby Town would both have to go onto the backburner.
"Our number one priority is to gain promotion to the Southern League and to do that we must win the UCL Premier Division title.
"The biggest threat to our championship prospects is not
St Neots but rather the sheer volume of matches still to be played."
By Tuesday the Town still faced another 17 league matches not to mention a possible three more games in cup competitions. With a squad of only 16 players resources will be stretched to the limit.
UCL officials have been slow to react to the problems caused by the unusually cold winter and in February scheduled no Premier Division fixtures for a Tuesday night which would have been crucial in easing the backlog.
Unless the season is extended well into May, the Town players will have to turn out three times a week sometime in April to accommodate a whole string of postponed matches.
Nine games have been arranged already for March with slots yet to be found for the home and away league games with Newport Pagnell and Saturday's postponement at Bourne because of a water-logged pitch.
The season was due to end with the big one against championship rivals St Neots at Kester Way on May Day but this now seems unlikely to be the end of the story after the worst winter in
30 years.
"Perhaps getting knocked out of the FA Vase at Needham Market was a blessing in disguise," conceded Fuller before concluding that "winning the UCL title has always been our main priority."
On Saturday (weather permitting) the Town are due to travel to Stotfold before entertaining Cogenhoe (next Tuesday) and Boston Town at an under-used Communications Park next week.
A Tuesday night journey to Market Deeping on March 16 presents its own problems before the March programme is completed by the return game with Stotfold, trips to both Raunds and Sleaford and a home match against Yaxley.
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Weather for Daventry
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
