WARRINGTON Town manager Shaun Reid is a happy man this Christmas, with his side just a point off the top in Evo-Stik League First Division North.
A tricky festive period awaits, with trips to Witton Albion (Dec 26) and Clitheroe (Jan 2), sandwiched by a home game against Trafford (Dec 28).
The manner of last weekend’s 5-0 thrashing of Mossley will no doubt have Reid and his charges full of confidence ahead of a run of games that could see them pile the pressure on leaders Northwich Victoria before the pair meet on January 16 at Cantilever Park.
Reid said: “I’ve got to be happy. We’ve lost 2 league games and Burscough have been on a great run and they’re in the playoffs. Am I happy? Yes. We seem to be getting stronger, seem to be getting meaner, more organised and I thought last Saturday with the ball was some of the best football I’ve seen since I’ve been at the club. We got it down, passed it, did everything right and all you can say to your players after that is keep going.”
“As a manager, you set your teams up and you think when’s the banana skin going to come, is this it? Mossley have had some good results, but I thought we were very organised. The back four give a great basis to start on with a top keeper – that’s five league games on the bounce without conceding a goal, in any level of football that’s amazing and you’ve got to give them credit.”
The visit of Trafford on Monday will bring back memories of the reverse fixture on Bank Holiday Monday in August, when struggling Town were staring at the barrel of a third successive defeat in a slow start to the season which had put some pressure on Reid.
So much so, the gutsy turnaround to earn Town a 2-1 win took its toll on the infectiously passionate Reid, who collapsed in the dugout before the end of the match and was forced to spend some weeks away from the sidelines, much to his frustration.
That has triggered an incredible run of form which has seen Town win 14 of their last 16 league games, with a draw against Lancaster and a defeat to Burscough the only blotches on an imperious sequence of results.
The opening month of the season saw a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against much-fancied Bamber Bridge, though the Lancastrians have underwhelmed and underperformed in the four months since. A win at home to Radcliffe was followed by a draw at home to Farsley, before a 4-1 thumping at Burscough and a disappointing exit in the FA Cup at the first hurdle to Abbey Hey, a league below Warrington, a far cry from their last outing in the competition, the televised second round defeat at Conference side Gateshead.
But for a 90th minute equaliser, the 1-1 draw at home to Lancaster at the beginning of September, could well have been win three in the current run and at the time, that setback had people wondering whether the back-to-back wins over Trafford and New Mills were merely fluke.
It was far from that. A credible 3-2 win at Mossley, where big summer signing Steven Gillespie had his finest game in Town colours, was followed by a superb 1-0 away victory against supposed promotion contenders Scarborough, a match also notable for being the debut of shrewd striker signing Ben Deegan.
That was followed by a 5-0 demolition of Clitheroe, the only team to have taken points off leaders Northwich this season, and a 3-0 win over Ossett Albion, who have gone on to become unlikely play-off candidates.
Reid said: “People forget we signed eight players in the summer which is a major re-construction of the squad. Yes we kept some but it takes time and although we thought pre-season had gone well, we obviously still had a few things to tinker with.
“Dan O’Donnell came in at centre half and has done smashing, Ally Brown’s settled in. Danny Ventre took a while now he’s dictating games, you’ve got to wait for things like that.
“A big plus has been in the signing of Ben Deegan. We went and got Ben, who we’ve tried to get for the last two years on the run, and eventually he became available and he’s fitted in to my ethos and the team’s ethos.
“We’re a good group and it’s pleasing for me to see things we are working on in training are coming in to games now and that’s massive.”
The start of October saw a 2-1 win over Ossett Town in the FA Trophy, the first time Town have progressed in the competition for six years. It didn’t end there. Home wins over Brighouse Town and Basford United set up a test against National League North side AFC Fylde, who came out 2-0 winners at Cantilever Park, but not without a fight.
Those cup commitments have meant Warrington haven’t played a league away game since a 1-0 win at Farsley on October 24, a real snatch and grab victory where Ally Brown’s solitary goal proved enough to see off a home side who hit the woodwork on several occasions.
October also saw 11 goals struck in two home games – 6-3 v Harrogate Railway and 5-1 v Droylsden – and then the reverse fixture against Burscough, who once again had the measure of Reid’s side to come away 3-1 winners. To date, Burscough are the only team to have beaten Warrington in the league this season.
Since that defeat, Warrington have won five in the league without conceding a goal. In total, they’ve kept 13 clean sheets in the season.
Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem either, with striker Ciaran Kilheeney leading the goal charts with 15, ahead of Scott Metcalfe and Deegan with 9.
Reid added: “All in all, it’s very pleasing. We know going forward we’ve got goals, we’ve kept five clean sheets with a keeper and a back four we’ve kept together all season since we had a slow start, so I’ve got a smile on my face.
“I can only look after my team. I’ll set my team up right and we’ll be organised, disciplined, hard to beat and we’ll get goals. I want them worrying about us! I’ll show them the respect they deserve, but I’ve got to give my lads a pat on the back too, we’re a good side and you don’t do what we’re doing unless you’re a good side and finally they’re realising that.”
