CARL ADAMS believes Stratford Town’s strength in depth means he can shuffle his starting XI without weakening his team.
Town’s intense schedule of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday matches means Adams will have to swap players to keep them fresh for what could yet be a push for the play-offs in their first season in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier.
Such aspirations will face a stern examination this weekend when Town, currently in 12th place but with games in hand , welcome eighth placed Dorchester Town to the DCS Stadium.
Then on Tuesday they host title favourites Poole Town.
But after Monday’s hard fought draw at high-flyers Hungerford Town, to follow an away victory at Histon last Saturday, Adams’ response is: Bring it on!
“We’ve had a fantastic week,” said Adams. “I always felt that after the run of postponements it would take three or four games to get back up to speed and hopefully we are now back to where we were before Christmas when we were on such a good run.
“The next couple of games will be a test to see where we are. We’ve got some tough games coming up but I’m really pleased with how the squad has coped.
“We’ve had to make changes but everybody who has come in has done their jobs.
“There’s no one way player more important than any other. I’ve got a squad where whoever comes in will deliver. I’ll need that to keep everybody fresh.”
Stratford are still without striker Edwin Ahenkorah (hamstring) and midfielder Alex Price (ankle), while Aaron Moses-Garvey has work commitments. Midfielder Jack Roberts can play against Dorchester but then starts a three-man ban for his red card against Dunstable.
Adams hailed Town’s performance on Monday after a goalless draw at Hungerford, with Emmitt Delfouneso summing up Stratford’s spirit.
Having played centre back on Saturday, he slotted into central midfield as Marcel Simpson and Anthony Charlies played at centre back.
Striker Tyrone Fagan, too, back after a stop-start season, was a huge presence up front while newcomer Mark Magee again provided a real threat.
“We played like real men – it was a magnificent effort from everyone against a very good Hungerford side,” he added.
Last Saturday, Town bagged two goals in the first 20 minutes to set up a comfortable win at Histon.
Aaron Stringfellow, returning to the side after suspension, headed home the first on 11 minutes from Jamie Sheldon’s cross.
Nine minutes later, Michael McGrath was fouled just outside the Histon area and the midfielder smashed the free kick into the bottom corner of the net.
