‘Who’s to say we can’t go on and win the league?’: St Albans City manager confident ahead of Dartford test
Solomon Sambou battles to keep hold of the ball against East Thurrock. Picture: LEIGH PAGE - Credit: Archant
St Albans City manager Ian Allinson says there is no reason why his side cannot go on and win the league – but is prepared for a huge test of that statement when current Vanarama National South league leaders Dartford visit Clarence Park on Saturday.
City picked up their best win of the season on Saturday with a thumping 7-2 success over East Thurrock United, a result that put them back into the play-off places.
And while that is first and foremost the target, Allinson believes the potential is there for them to go even higher.
He said: “Dartford are top for a reason. They are very strong, very organised and they score from set-pieces.
“We know it’s going to be a very tough game but we want to get in the play-offs and when we get there, we want to win it.
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“But who’s to say we can’t go and win the league? It’s going to be a tough ask but I think we’ve got a squad here that is as good as anything in this league but we’ve got to get consistent.
“I’ve said it all season, our consistency is why we are sitting where we are. If we can get our consistency to the required level week in, week out, who’s to say we can’t push on?”
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They suffered a 2-1 defeat at Saturday’s visitors back in October, a result that Allinson felt was unfair.
“That goes back to the period when we were struggling defensively,” he admitted. “On that game we lost Harold Joseph, we’d lost Tom Gardiner the week before but we will go into Saturday much stronger and defensively we’re a lot better.
“We’re in a better position but on that day in October I felt were unlucky not to get something out of it.
“Our form has been good since Truro at the beginning of December. We’ve had one defeat to Hemel and picked up a few draws which has cost us some points but there have been some wins in there too which has been vital.
“We’ve got to keep it going; we’ve got a massive month in February.”
And Allinson’s confidence is not just a by-product of the victory over the 10-man Essex club as the Saints’ boss felt the result flattered them slightly.
He said: “Full credit to East Thurrock because when it was 11 v 11 I thought they outplayed us and deserved to be in front.
“The sending off changed the game massively.”
