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Rovers still in good spirits
Story courtesy of
Cup defeat against Stapenhill may have come as a severe shock to the system of Gresley Rovers’ fans – but manager Frank Northwood is far from despondent.
Northwood boldly declared last night: “There is nothing wrong at the Moat Ground that we can’t put right quickly. We had a long chat in the dressing room after training on Tuesday night and I talked things out. The spirit among the players is still very good and I’m not losing any sleep over one disappointing result.“Stapenhill played very well on the day and thoroughly deserved to win. I hope they go all the way now and win the Derbyshire Senior Cup because it would be a tremendous boost for this area. But I still believe that nine times out of ten we would beat them – and they caught us on an odd day out. To a man, there’s not a Stapenhill player I would swap for the lads I’ve already got at Gresley.”
Despite his belief that the best of Gresley is still to come this season, Northwood is likely to move into the transfer market to reinforce his squad.
Possibly the cruellest blow to them in the battle of Edge Hill was the tragic injury suffered by central defender Ray Skeemer.
Skeemer, just six games into his comeback after a two-year absence because of a broken leg, snapped an ankle tendon and will be out of action until the New Year at least.
Northwood said: “You can’t help feeling sorry for Ray. He’s such a good competitor and such a good clubman that he will be sorely missed. He is also a very good player and I think we are going to have to look around for a replacement.”
