Horncastle boss hopes for an upturn in fortunes

​Horncastle Town boss Andrew Cotton says he’s hopeful his side’s form will pick up as the Lincolnshire League season edges into its final stages.
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​The Wongers have suffered with injuries and player availability in recent weeks which has led to a run of six straight defeats in league and cup, their last win being on January 7.

But having seen an improved performance in last weekend’s 2-1 loss at Immingham, Cotton feels an upturn in fortunes isn’t far away as he aims to see them stop the rot, firstly at Sleaford Town Rangers on Wednesday night (1st) and then Skegness Town Reserves on Saturday.

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He said: “We’re out of form, there’s no hiding from it, and although there are mitigating factors there have been times where performances also haven’t been good enough.

Horncastle Town have had a tough run of form.Horncastle Town have had a tough run of form.
Horncastle Town have had a tough run of form.

"We’ve had some injuries – nothing too major but in a congested fixture list they have been knocks that have seen players miss two or three games – plus availability has also been an issue here and there which you sometimes get at this level.

"But the performance last weekend showed signs of improvement. We did really well for half-an-hour and stuck to the game plan but gave away a silly free-kick which they scored from, then the second goal had a large hint of offside about it.

"We battled well and got a goal late on but it gives us something to build on now in the upcoming games.

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"We’ve shown we can play and the next games are all perfectly winnable if we perform well.”

Horncastle currently lie 14th in the 18-team Lincolnshire League Premier Division, 15 points clear of bottom-of-the-table Appleby Frodingham and with games in hand on most of the teams around them.

And Cotton now wants to see his team finish the season as competitively as possible.

He said: “Obviously we start looking towards next season and giving young players opportunities to play in Lincolnshire League football and gain experience that will help them if they stay in the frame for the next campaign.

"We can’t compete with some of the clubs higher up who are putting a bit of money in here and there but we want to be competitive and build towards our future at all levels of the club.”

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