Boss Mason says lowly Long Buckby have a point to prove

And he is eager for the Bucks to take maximum points against Sileby Rangers on Saturday in the first of 
seven games he labels ‘cup finals’.

Buckby were docked six points by the United Counties League earlier this month for selecting midfielder Joe Power, who failed to pay a fine picked up in Sunday football more than a year ago.

The Station Road side are now perilously close to the UCL Premier Division relegation zone, with four sides below them in the table all having plenty of games in hand.

Sileby are one of those as they sit a point behind the Bucks with six games more to play going into Saturday’s encounter.

And Mason said: “Hopefully the points deduction doesn’t dent our confidence. It should give us a point to prove.

“We can’t mope about, we’ve got to take it on the chin.

“We’ve not played since we lost those points and it’s been frustrating, but we’ve got a chance to put it right in 
the last seven games of the season, which are like cup finals.

“We’ve got to go and give ourselves a chance by getting some points.

“We’ve been dragged into it and we’ll give it our all to avoid relegation.”

But Buckby won’t have it easy against an improving Sileby side, who have been on the up since Daren Young took charge in December.

And though he stopped short of labelling it a must-win game, Mason knows how much is riding on Saturday’s clash at Station Road.

“A draw is not really any good for either side,” he said. “We’ve got to try to get the three points.

“Sileby have got some good players in recently and they’ve got a far bit of quality so it will be a tough game for us.

“We’re without a couple of key players in Howard Forinton and Wes Emery so the other lads will have to step up to the plate.

“But I don’t want to put too much pressure on the players. They’ve got to stay as relaxed as possible and I’ll take the pressure off them by putting it on myself. Hopefully that works.”