​Sleaford prepare for key battles

The Greens have endured a tough season since budget cuts saw the departure of former player-boss Tom Ward and a number of established first team players, with replacement manager Matt Evans having had to rebuild most of the squad with youngsters.

And with five games still to play, Sleaford sit just three points outside the United Counties League Premier North relegation zone, with five straight defeats behind them.

This weekend, they will welcome Ashby Ivanhoe, who sit ninth in the league but look unlikely to have any chance of now making the play-offs.

Evans said: “We played them a few weeks ago at their place and lost 2-0 and had moments where we could have gone in front, so we need to make sure we’re more clinical.

"We’ll be trying to make sure some of the set pieces work better than they have done and we’ll just keep trying and working as it’s all we can do.”

That game will then be followed by a trip to Melton Town a week later, another side destined for a mid-table finish and with little now to play for other than position.

A much bigger game will follow on April 12, as Sleaford host Gresley Rovers who are currently third-from-bottom and two points behind Evans’ men, meaning that game will be something of six-pointer irrespective of how results go in the preceding games.

The final away trip on April 19 will be against another side that won’t be going up or down, Newark & Sherwood United sitting firmly in 12th spot as things stand.

The final game of the season will then take place on Easter Monday, April 21, when Sleaford host Boston Town in a local derby with Boston currently in fourth place and battling hard for a play-off place.

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