Neil Young is confident Marine can end their Christmas form slump as they enter the period confident.
The Mariners have endured mid-season slip-ups during the festive period in recent seasons. In their successful Northern Premier League West campaign, they toppled down the table following a poor run before slipping from fourth to eighth last year.
Back-to-back wins over Gainsborough Trinity and Atherton Collieries have springboarded Marine into the playoffs, where they sit in fifth – three points clear of nearest challengers Macclesfield.
Young admitted that their form during the December has been cagey but with the experience in his squad, believes they are capable of maintaining their run with Whitby Town, Warrington Rylands and Basford United on the horizon.
“We’ve got to be better over this period, in the last few years we’ve faded over Christmas,” he told Off The Park.
“I don’t think this group will do that, we’ve got a bit more experience but it’s about keeping players fit because it’s a hectic period with lots of games so we’ve got to keep them fit but fresh enough to keep going every two games.
“We have to keep doing what we’re doing, keep improving, we’ve only got a small group of players available to us at the moment so we may need to add one or two.
“A lot of people are saying that but it’s a lot easier said than done, believe me we’ve been trying.
“It’s not as easy as signing anyone but the lads are sticking together, Fin is back now, him and Sol both back scoring, Connor Evans played well leading from the front and then lots of options in midfield, I just think we’re a little bit short at the back.”
Marine have netted eight in their last two (3-1 vs Gainsborough & 5-0 vs Atherton Collieries) which has left the Mariners boss pleased. They travel to Whitby this weekend looking to avenge their home defeat to the North Yorkshire side at the beginning of the season.
Whitby ran out 3-1 winners on Merseyside in a performance Young describes as one of their worst.
He added: “Last year, we wasn’t great against teams in the top half but this year we’ve already beaten the team that are top and Worksop, we’ve done well so far. Whitby is a tough place to go, we’re going on the back of a good result and we’ve got to go there and win the game.
“We have to be better than we were on that day, the first-half was as bad as it has been and second-half, we were good. Although we lost 3-1, we could’ve drawn or even won it in the end, we’re much further on, I think we’re better than then, our form has been good over recent weeks, we have to keep going and seeing how we go.”
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