Runcorn Linnets manager Billy Paynter is expecting a response against Avro.
Linnets have lost their last two Northern Premier League West matches which has allowed for their playoff rivals to make ground up on them.
They sit third, level on points with second-placed Prescot Cables and Bootle in fourth. It was the Bucks who inflicted disappointment last time out – following their 3-0 away defeat to Leek Town a week earlier.
Paynter says that they’ve moved on from their recent showings but he expects a response to kickstart a run at the business end of the campaign. They take on Avro this weekend, a team who have impressed in their first season in Step Four.
The Manchester side have been in the upper reaches of the table for most of the season – sitting as high as second during parts of the campaign. They sit seven points off the playoffs and while the Linnets boss is expecting a hard-fought encounter, he wants to use their recent struggles as added motivation.
He told Off The Park: “It’s an opportunity for the lads to get back to winning ways, we’ve quickly moved on from Bootle.
“We spent a couple of days analysing the match, we had the majority of the chances but in our own performance, we were very leggy, fatigued in our play and it was very slow. It makes it easy for the team to get into that mid-block, we’ve addressed it and we’ve quickly moved on and fully focused on Avro.
“Avro isn’t going to be an easy game, they’ve had a good couple of results so it’s about what certain Runcorn turns up.
“We’ve had a good sit down and chat about it, we have to move on quickly, we can’t dwell on past games. What’s done is done, we need to use the disappointment to fuel us against Avro, I want a response – I’m expecting a response. Our mindset going into it is we want three points.”
[Featured image: Neil Phillip Thornton]
