Loxwood target a strong February ahead of tough run-in

Loxwood are targeting a strong February to stand them in good stead for the highest-possible finish this season.
Football, Southern Combination League Premier Division: Loxwood v Crawley Down Gatwick. Pic Steve Robards  SR1700523 SUS-170116-101839001Football, Southern Combination League Premier Division: Loxwood v Crawley Down Gatwick. Pic Steve Robards  SR1700523 SUS-170116-101839001
Football, Southern Combination League Premier Division: Loxwood v Crawley Down Gatwick. Pic Steve Robards SR1700523 SUS-170116-101839001

The Magpies welcome Lancing at Plaistow Road on Saturday - at the earlier kick-off time of 1pm - for the start of a run of games boss Mark Beard is targeting maximum points from.

They have Wick, Horsham YMCA and Hassocks all following later in the month, two of which they have already beat this season. Then, of their final ten games, seven are against teams above the ninth-placed Magpies.

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Beard said: “I keep saying to the boys that I trust them to go out in every game and I back us to win, no matter who we are playing.

“No disrespect to the teams we are playing, but I do feel we can win most of those we have coming up in the next month.

“If we do that we will see where it takes us and where we go, then we are playing a lot of the teams that are well up there and chasing at the top of the league.

“That will be a challenge but we can see if we can have a say on the standings and try and finish well.”

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Beard has also stressed he is now happy with his squad again after a number of signings in recent weeks.

The Magpies did also miss out on bolstering their ranks with another striker last week, who opted to go elsewhere.

Beard added: “I was looking for a forward, but he went elsewhere. I do have a big squad of 15 and that’s leaving out a couple so I am happy where we are.”

Saturday’s match is an early kick-off due to Beard’s annual Love to Box show taking place in the evening and Lancing turning down switching the game to Friday evening.