News

A 2-0 defeat at Skegness with a severely depleted squad was followed up by a 3-0 defeat on the road to Boston Town at the weekend but the interim management team of Paul Tomlinson and Gary Norton remain positive about the current squad - once several key players return from Injury and suspension.

Two players who have missed recent games through suspension are captain Alby Lansdowne and striker Jenson Cooper with both players set to complete their 3 match bans tonight meaning they are available again from Saturday for the trip to AFC Mansfield.

However, it’s the ongoing injury list where the key concerns lie with no current return date in sight for Jack Andrews, Kane Lee, Will Robinson and Harrison Soloman. As such the current squad continues to contain a number of youngsters from the clubs u18 and Reserve squads for tonight’s game.

Youngster Phil Kowalski who was set for a start on Saturday but dropped out due to illness returns to the squad and Ethan Goodfellow and Stevie Savage are also once again included as is Evan Wynne from the reserve team after impressing in first team training last week.

Ste Hart, who agreed a return to the club at the weekend is included in the squad but Eli Christie is unavailable for this match.

Finally, in a surprising turn of events, 20-year-old Fin Barker has informed the club of his decision to depart and pursue opportunities elsewhere following the weekend's defeat at Boston.

Barker conveyed his intentions to Chairman Gary Norton during a phone conversation on Sunday morning. The young player cited the club's challenging season as the primary reason for his exit, expressing his belief that a change of scenery was necessary to get his "development back on track."

Chairman Gary Norton commented on Barker's decision "Fin's departure is undoubtedly disappointing for us however, we won’t stand in the way of players who don’t want to be at the club, especially in the situation we are in. It's clear that our season hasn't unfolded for us as planned, and that’s the same for Fin as well resulting in his decision to leave the club."

Norton added " Following Carl's recent decision step away, Paul and I are working tirelessly in the interim to address our current challenges and unfortunately, Fin wasn't inclined to stay and witness the potential outcomes of these efforts. Whilst that’s a shame, we move on, part ways amicably and extend our best wishes for his future endeavours."