DROITWICH Spa manager Andy Crowther remains adamant that his side can finish in the play-offs with the Saltmen having enjoyed an impressive first half of the season in their first campaign at step six.
Spa returned home to Droitwich this summer, after four seasons playing in Stourport, and Andy Crowther’s side have thrilled supporters at their redeveloped King George Playing Fields home which was officially opened by former England manager Kevin Keegan in November.
The pick of the results saw Droitwich ease to a 3-0 win against local rivals Worcester City in the Worcestershire Senior Cup in front of a club record 972 supporters.
Crowther said: “It’s gone very well, some would say better than expected, all the lads have taken to the next level with ease, that’s shown in the past on the couple of FA Vase runs we’ve been on and we’ve beaten teams that are one or two leagues above us.
“We’ve shown that we can compete and to be sitting sixth heading into Christmas is unbelievable.
“The main expectation is still the play-offs, I don’t see why we can’t achieve that when we’re in a good position at the moment.
“If we carry on the way that we are going then hopefully we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
“As a new team going up to a new league, usually the main priority is to stay in that league but from day dot my priority was play-offs and I still expect us to get there.
“It’s been unbelievable, every game has been well attended and we’re in and around the top attendances at step six, to be back in Droitwich just shows how strong the community is by how many people have attended each game, the support has been fantastic and I hope it continues for the rest of the season.”
Spa sit sixth in the Midland Football League Division One table heading into the festive period and have scored 50 goals in just 20 league matches.
Boss Crowther feels his players have adapted well to a higher level, having won the league title at the step below last term, and wants his to team to continue to approach games with a positive attitude in the second half of the campaign.
Crowther added: “As a whole, the way we’ve gone out and approached each game, we’re still trying to do it the right way by playing football, we’ve had to adapt in certain games where we’ve needed to go long, that’s been a big thing, the players have been able to adapt to the game and to the situation.
“I don’t want to take anything away from the West Midlands league last season but you could play one way and get through a game, this season you can’t just approach a game with one plan, you’ve got to have at least another two plans to change it up if you need to.
“I don’t think we’ve had many games where I’ve had the full complement of the squad the main thing for the rest of the season is to just keep approaching each game as we have.
“We believe we can win each game with a positive mental attitude, you’ve got to go into a game thinking you’re going to win it otherwise there is no point playing and that’s what the lads do every game and I expect them to carry on doing that.”
Droitwich return to action in the New Year at home to OJM Black Country on Monday, January 2 with kick-off at 3pm at the King George Playing Fields.
