Widnes manager Michael Ellison is hoping that his side can return to winning ways in Friday’s meeting with City of Liverpool.
The Whites impressive run saw them move off the foot of the table in the Northern Premier League West with wins of Witton Albion and Hanley Town.
Trafford ran out 2-0 winners last week to end the two-game unbeaten streak but the upturn in form has moved them from rock-bottom to within touching distance of survival.
Friday poses another opportunity to pick up a win as Ellison’s former club City of Liverpool visit the DCBL Stadium but the Widnes boss insists irrespective of their opponents, the points are the most important thing.
“When we went there it was early on and they give us a hiding, there’s no two ways about that,” he said speaking to Off The Park.
“Look, we need the points and I don’t care who it comes against whether it’s City of Liverpool whoever it is. We just need the points that are going to keep us in the division and that’s my main concern, it’ll be nice to win being a former club but that’s not the thing.
“Player-wise there’s a couple of former players but there’s players who have played for three or four teams, there’s a lot of local lads, local teams, I don’t think that’ll factor into it. it’s just the case of we need points and we need them more than City of Liverpool.”
Last time the two sides clashed it was during the early tenure of the new manager but it was a miserable evening against his former employers.
Paul McNally’s side cruised to a 4-0 win with Nathan Burke scoring twice from the spot with James Steele and Michael Simpson also on the scoresheet.
Ellison admitted that the wounds from the defeat in October are still open even if his team has changed. He added: “From the team that played in that game, our squad looks a lot different, I don’t think there’s many who played in that game [earlier in the season] that will play on Friday so I don’t think they’ve got that disappointment – I’ve still got it, I know if we have a bad day they’ll turn us over.
“They’ve got some good lads at the top end of the pitch, it helps that we know them and they’ve got a goalscorer, target man in Mitchley who has been a handful.
“We know what we’ve got to do, it doesn’t matter who it is, we have to prepare right, we know their strengths, their weaknesses and get some points on the board.”
