Histon manager Chris Nunn on United Counties League Premier Division South play-off race after beating Leicester Nirvana ahead of home game with Northampton Chenecks
Histon boss Chris Nunn says consistency is key in the race for the United Counties League Premier Division South play-off places.
The Stutes are four points outside the top five in ninth spot and there’s seven teams realistically chasing the last two positions after last weekend’s 2-1 home win over Leicester Nirvana.
“It’s going to be the team that is consistent between now and the end of the season,” said Nunn.
“If your performances remain consistent, you always get what you deserve. We’ve won four out of the last five so if we continue with that sort of points ratio, then I’m convinced we’ll make the play-offs.
“We’ve got 12 games left so we’re probably going to need eight or nine wins, I don’t know. I’m a massive Arsenal supporter and they can’t worry about what Liverpool do and it’s the same with us, we’ve just got to worry about ourselves.
“At the moment, we’re doing that and picking up results because of it. I’m not the sort of manager who looks at other results in the bar afterwards as we’re not at that stage yet.
“You’ve got to focus on where you are yourselves and that’s what we’re doing. When we did lose to St Neots, we probably played better than we did on Saturday but that was against the team top of the league. We’ve got to be positive and try and win every game we play.”
Histon can give their top-five chances a big boost with victory at home to fifth-placed Northampton Chenecks this Saturday (2pm).
“If we want to have ambitions of making the play-offs then these are games you’ve got to go and win,” added Nunn. “I know people think maybe you’ll be happy with a draw but we want to be beating the teams near the top.
“They’re a good side with good players and the top goalscorer (Lewis Irwin) in the league so it’s going to be tough but we’ve got to make it tough for them.
“I tend not to try and worry too much about the opposition as you’ve got to make sure you have your own house in order.”
Reflecting on the weekend’s victory over a lively Leicester side, who belied their standing in the bottom four, Nunn was pleased that his team got the job done.
Goals from Joe O’Neill – his first for the club – and Connor Barnes proved decisive for Histon.
“I thought it was a really good second-half performance,” said Nunn. “In the first half we were a bit lethargic and slow in what we did but the second half was a big improvement and it was a deserved win.
“We went 1-0 up and gave away a penalty towards the end of the first half but them scoring didn’t change my half-time talk. I was just disappointed with how we played and what we did.
“Everything was too slow and there was no urgency, it was as though we were going to coast through the game and it just doesn’t happen at any level. You’ve got to be on it, and if you’re not on it then it’s hard to get on it, you can’t pick and choose.
“We were struggling to gain any momentum because we were too slow but we addressed it at half-time and fair play to the lads, they stuck to the task a lot better in the second half.
“We had chances to get the third goal, we didn’t take it but we got there in the end. It was a big win for us against a dangerous side with a lot of pace and energy so it was pleasing to get the win.
“We haven’t lost consecutive games in the season, it’s good we’ve always bounced back, and the pleasing thing was it was the second game running we got over 300 which is great for the club. We need the supporters behind us to help us in games.”
