FAIRFIELD Villa general manager Paul Oakes hopes fans will come out in force for their weekend game against local rivals Droitwich Spa.
Villa welcome Midland League Division Two leaders and neighbours Spa to the Recreation Ground on Saturday looking to gain a much needed confidence boost.
And for manager Paul, he is looking forward to the prospect of having a decent crowd at the game.
“The Saltmen have gained themselves a nice little following as they’re doing well so we’d love to see them make it to the game,” he said.
“We are only a small village club so we get around 40 to 50 people come to watch our home games so it would be nice to see a bigger turnout this Saturday.”
After last weekend’s game against Sutton United was postponed, Villa have been out of action for a fortnight and with no training pitch, the prospect of playing a fully fit Droitwich worries Paul.
“Unfortunately we have struggled to get a training session as we can’t find anywhere to host them,” he said.
“It’s literally been a case of leaving it down to the players’ own initiative to keep fit which is slightly concerning.
“Droitwich have been training twice a week as they have some very professional people in their ranks so I’m not surprised they have done so well.”
In a season defined as transitional by Paul, he believes this fixture is the first time in a long time the Saltmen are considered favourites.
“With no disrespect to Droitwich, they have done a tremendous job, but in all honesty this is the first time we have been underdogs,” he said.
“We’ve made plenty of new signings and they need to settle down into the squad so they can floruish.
“Getting a good result would give all the lads a much-needed boost.
“If you look back at the early part of the season, when we had a fully fit squad we performed really well but then we had a lot of injuries.
“I’m sure that once we have everyone fit we will start performing again but no matter the result this weekend, the clubhouse will have a pleasant atmosphere.”