Head Coach Glenn Pennyfather wants to “reward our fans” as he leads his Chelmsford City team into a festive double-header against local rivals Thurrock at Melbourne, kick-off 1:00pm on Boxing Day.
He has set a target of seven to nine points from the Clarets’ next three Blue Square South games.
City play home and away against the Fleet over Christmas and New Year, as well as a trip to Dover Athletic sandwiched in-between, and the City boss believes his ambitious target can be achieved with his in-form squad, which includes eager potential debutants Marlon Patterson and Grant Cooper. “Marlon and Grant are both great acquisitions but they’ve got to earn the right to get into the team as everyone is playing well right now and it’s great that we have competition for places all over the pitch now,” Pennyfather explained. “I’m looking for seven to nine points from these next three games, then you’re sitting nicely in the league table and it also rewards our fans who have been so loyal this year.”
Statistically, Thurrock are the second highest ranked Essex non-league club as they sit in third place following a sensational first half of the campaign which has surprised some pundits after their twentieth-placed finish last term. An anomalous 5-0 away defeat at leaders Newport County aside, their recent form has been acceptable, including a victory over Worcester City and a stalemate against Havant & Waterlooville.
Anthony Cook misses the game through suspension having built-up a collection of five bookings so far this season, while full-backs Steven Clark and Michael Haswell are almost certainly out as they recover from a chest infection and concussion respectively.
The game has been in doubt ever since the onslaught of snow last week, but Pennyfather has his fingers crossed, claiming: “We’ve done our best to give the game every opportunity to be played and there has been some great work shifting the snow from the pitch. We have had withdrawal symptoms as we haven’t played since Truro City and have been working indoors in training due to the weather but we have three big weeks coming-up in the league and cup and have to make sure we play the conditions right.”
