SOLIHULL Moors continue to defy the odds in their bid to survive in the National League as they sit seven points above the drop zone.
In his latest column for the Observer, skipper Ryan Beswick looks back on an impressive festive break and firstly gives an update on his injury.
“The injury is not going great. It’s something I’ve had for a long time, I picked it up at the end of last season. I started to feel a pain in my groin area and it got really tight.
“It might be something serious so I’m getting it looked at. It has been terrible not being involved and on the pitch with the lads.
“We’ve seen a few players leave the club recently because of injury, one of those was Theo Streete. It was a shame to see Theo go especially given the circumstances through injury, but that’s football.
“I think it could be a very serious injury and at the end of the day the club has to do what is best for them but I wish Theo all the best and we’ll stay in touch because we shared some great memories together at Moors.
Unbeaten run
“We know at the end of the day any team can beat anyone in this league. Any team can go on a good run and we proved that we can go toe-to-toe with any team in this league.
“I think a lot other teams have taken note and they’re starting to have a bit more respect for us now and you can see that in the way they are setting up – some teams are setting up in such a way that they don’t lose.
“The run moved us further away from the relegation zone which is the main thing. We want to move away from the bottom four and it’s good to see us pull away a bit – it keeps us at arms’ length.
“We are all very confident that we can get over the line and stay up. The sooner we can do that the better and that would be a fantastic achievement if we can keep this club up this season.
“I think for the club and the board if we stay up it would be a bigger achievement than winning the league last season but on a personal level you can’t beat winning medals. Survival would be right up there but there’s no better feeling than winning.
“We are playing a more direct style under the new manager Liam McDonald. We don’t fear teams anymore and we’re not setting ourselves up just so we cannot lose. We’ve got a mentality to win every game and we’ve got a manager in now with an impressive points record which is good.
Gateshead defeat
“We weren’t at out best against Gateshead. Take nothing from them, they did what they had to do and they were good at it. Gateshead aren’t a bad outfit and they are eyeing up the play-offs. They are a strong side and very solid.
“I’m sure it was a one-off performance from us. They were well organised and knew what they were doing. They were also able to stop what we wanted to do and we had a few players out like Conor Franklin who would have made a difference – we missed his magic down the left and lacked creativity.
Week off
“Players will look at the week off differently, but for me whether we’ve won or lost I just can’t wait for the next game.
“Some players like to regroup and to be fair it gives the lads a chance to get some rest after a tough couple of months especially with everything that has gone on. It might be good for the team to have a week off then we will be ready to go against Boreham Wood.
Transfers
“Both Akwasi Asante and Jamey Osborne are two massive players for us so it’s important the club does its best to keep hold of them.
“I think it shows just how far the club has come when you see clubs from the Football League coming in for our players, but at the end of the day the board have to do what’s best for the club.
“If they decide to take the money then we can’t grumbled because that’s a decision that’s been made upstairs.
“We’d love for both of them to stay but on the flip side it’s also a great career move for them so we won’t take nothing away from them if they decide to move, but we’d love them to stay and help us maintain our National League status.”
