By Hugo Varley
After suffering heartbreak in last season’s play-offs, Marcus Law’s newly improved Kettering Town side are gearing up nicely for another assault on promotion to Step 2.
Before Saturday’s trip to Stratford Town, the Poppies had won all five league matches, conceding just two goals in the process; a statistic which former Barwell and Tamworth boss Law says has greatly pleased him.
“At the end of last season we looked at our records and realised that we were far too inconsistent from a defensive perspective” the Kettering boss told The NLP.
“It seemed as though we were either keeping a clean sheet or letting in three or four goals, so we decided that defence was an area that we needed to restructure.”
“We have kept hold of Durrell Berry and Gary Stohrer from last season and brought in reinforcements in the form of Declan Towers, Dion Kelly-Evans and Lathaniel Rowe-Taylor, who have helped us to become much more resilient at the back.”
While The Poppies appear to have drafted in a number of quality players over the summer, Law admits the club’s stature can on occasion bring about unique problems with regards to player recruitment.
Pressure
“We are one of the best supported teams in the league and there are not many other sides at this level that can regularly attract 600 or 700 fans every week,” he said. “If the fans are not happy they will definitely let you know and I have had some players turn the opportunity to join us down because they don’t want to play with that kind of pressure on them.
“We therefore need to recruit a certain calibre of player who has the necessary ability and is able to perform in front of a big crowd.”
Law is now into his fourth season as Kettering boss and after two top six finishes, the former Stafford Rangers keeper is hopeful that this could be the Poppies’ year.
“The club’s ambition is always to get promoted,” Law said. “We may have not progressed quite as quickly as some would have wanted but the club is still evolving and it feels as though things are coming together nicely.
“We are hoping that if we can progress up the leagues then we will be able to attract the 2,000 or so fans that used to come and watch Kettering.
“That is a hugely exciting prospect and is something that really motivates us.”
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
