Matlock Town boss Craig Elliott prepares for mini-break

Due to South Shields’ progression to the FA Cup First Round and a televised home tie with Forest Green Rovers, Matlock are the one side without a game with Shields being the only Pitching In NPL Premier Division team to make it to the First Round.

“I’m 50-50 about it now,” admitted Elliott. “It’s come at a good time as it’ll give chance for some of the injuries to clear up and give the lads a rest and it’s also an opportune time for us to assess and hopefully improve the squad.

"On the other hand after the defeat at Warrington we’ve responded very well with two good wins and it might have been nice to have the chance to keep that run going Only time will tell but deep down I think I would have liked us to play on Saturday.”

Now Matlock’s next game is a tricky visit to Hyde United who have surprised a few people to lie second in the table, having walloped visiting Bamber Bridge 7-0 last weekend. That victory ensured they would edge ahead of Matlock who dropped a place to third.

The Stafford win, courtesy of AL Byrne’s 47th minute strike, put another £3000 into the club coffers and set up a home tie with Marske United on Saturday 19 November.

It was a closely fought game but Elliott says Matlock were good value for their victory.

“I knew it’d be tough but we played really well in that first half but couldn’t get that goal which would have increased our confidence,” he said.

"The trick is getting that first goal and it was good to get in front straight after half time. Stafford are a good side and you could definitely see why both teams are well placed in the table.”

Elliott still feels that Matlock need to increase their fitness levels.

“In the second half we got too deep and I feel we could have controlled things better,” he added. “This is partly down to fitness. To be fair though, we’ve got players at different stages of fitness, some playing through injuries, some coming back from injuries and others who are fitter than the others.”