NEW College first-team coach Rob Hopkins admits his side have slacked off in Division One West recently, but says this has been addressed ahead of the trip to rock-bottom Trowbridge tomorrow.
After a starting 2012 unbeaten in the league, New College have lost their last three outings, conceding 14 goals and scoring none in the process.
And Hopkins revealed: “We had a chat about it with the players and I think it’s a little bit of an end-of-season mindset.
“I think they realised Trowbridge and Malmesbury are going to finish in the bottom two, the relegation spots. They got a bit sloppy and lazy in their game play, so we have tried to address their motivation going into the last couple of games.”
Ryan Elliot has recovered from a virus and will be available for tomorrow’s journey to Woodmarsh.
Meanwhile, in the Hellenic Premier, Highworth manager Dave Webb is not a happy man after his team were deducted three points for fielding the suspended Ben Snook in the 5-0 win over Cheltenham in February.
Snook was banned after he broke league rules by serving an initial two-game suspension picked up for the reserves, for the first team.
Also irritating the boss is his team’s recent schedule, which has seen them play five games in 11 days, including last night’s game against Wokingham & Emmbrook.
“The season ends on April 21 and then our Challenge Cup final is in May, I just can’t see the logic,” fumed Webb.
“It’s unfair on the players and we’re asking them to do a lot on what we pay them.
“The Ben Snook debacle together with the amount of football we’ve played has absolutely killed us. It’s massive kick in the teeth for everyone at the football club.”
Elsewhere in the Hellenic Premier, Fairford make the journey to Ardley tomorrow.
It is now impossible for the Cinder Lane outfit to finish outside the bottom four, so they will be relying on external factors to keep them in the division.
In Division One West, Purton, Cricklade, Malmesbury and Cirencester Dev are not in action, while Wootton Bassett have finished their season.
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