TOM Killick insists Dorchester Town’s trip to bottom side Didcot Town may not be as straightforward as the Pitching In Southern League Premier South table suggests.
The Magpies, in trouble in 20th place, travel to Oxfordshire tomorrow (3pm) looking to continue their “mini” run, in Killick’s words, of three games unbeaten.
Didcot, promoted into Step 3 this summer, struggled early on this season but have regrouped and sit 14th of the 22 clubs in the 10-game form table.
The Railwaymen are only bottom due to an inferior goal difference to Harrow Borough, who were conquered 2-0 by Dorchester in January.
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And Killick believes Diddy could represent a tougher test than Harrow given their uptick in fortunes.
He told Echosport: “We’re still in this difficult position. We’ve had a very mini run of reasonable results in terms of getting seven points from nine.
“We’re still in an area of the table where no-one wants to be. The issue you have to accept as well, because the stakes are so high, is no-one wants to drop out of this league.
“There’s a big disparity between the level of this league and the one below in terms of playing standard facilities and the stature of clubs you’re up against.
“Sometimes people underestimate the difference, even one level, so everyone is desperate to retain their status. They’re going to do everything in their power to fight their way out of it.
“That’s why you’re seeing improved results by a lot of the teams in and around us.”
On the reminiscence of the Didcot game to the Harrow trip, Killick said: “Their recent form has been good and were written off to a large extent by a lot of people a couple of weeks ago.
“But they’ve clawed their way back and they’ll feel they’ve given themselves a platform to get out of it, which didn’t seem likely a few weeks ago.
“I would think they’re going to be a different proposition than perhaps they would have been a few weeks ago.
“It going to be difficult but you can’t deny the significance of it and we have to really front it head on. You have to let that soak in and have an awareness of it, then hope that’s reflected in your performance.”
Will Spetch (calf) and Jack Dickson (illness) will be assessed, while Luke Roberts earned another 45 minutes in Dorchester Under-23s’ 7-2 win over Millbrook.
Dorchester were also in talks with a defender from a Premier League club on Transfer Deadline Day yesterday, but the deal is considered unlikely at the time of writing.
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