Injuries to their already small squad could be the reason for St Albans City’s rise back into the National South play-off places according to manager Ian Allinson.
Barring a small blip against Truro City and Dartford at the beginning of the month, Saints have put together a strong run of results with Saturday’s 1-0 win over Hampton & Richmond Borough lifting them into seventh place in the table.
And the stars of the show at the Beveree were goalscorer Zane Banton and Kahle Da Costa, both of whom have been given an extended run in the side over the last few weeks with injuries and unavailability hitting hard.
Allinson said: “We’re still going along but it’s given a fantastic opportunity to some of the fringe players and they have grabbed their chance.
“We’ll look at what we have to do against Weston, who we might have to bring in and who we might have to leave out.
“The players who have come in for the last two games have been outstanding.
“They have been great in the way they have applied themselves and all done their jobs extremely well.
“We’ve now got to take it into Saturday.
“We’re another week down the line with David Noble and Ben Herd who are doing a lot more than they were seven days ago.
“Hopefully Sam Merson could be available for selection and Clovis Kamdjo is back [after compassionate leave].
“We’ve brought young Liam [Sole] in from Milton Keynes who will give us more depth on either wing and in the number 10 role.
“Having him on the bench may have given both Zane and Khale a little kick up the backside as they were both outstanding against Hampton.”
The visit of Weston-super-Mare will provide a firm test of Saints’ play-off credentials, even if the Seagulls sit bottom of the table.
Allinson said: “As I’ve said many times, the minute you don’t respect the opposition or you under estimate them, that’s the minute you fall flat on your face.
“They are a fantastic football side and if we don’t respect them we’ll get nothing.
“And at the moment we need three points as everyone around us is winning games.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here