Pitchero Non League

....yet to come from his side, despite them winning all four of their opening league fixtures.

The Jockeys maintained their 100 per record start to life in the First Division with a hard-fought 1-0 win on the road at Ipswich Wanderers last Saturday.

But, despite taking twelve points out of a possible twelve, Grainger feels the Town Ground outfit still have a lot more to offer.

“We are not playing that well at the minute, I would say we are only playing at around 70 per cent of our potential,” said Grainger.

“We start games really well but we are just struggling to really kill off teams in the second half of matches, and if we don’t sort it out it will come back and bite us.

“Saying that, I said at the start of the season it would take us until the end of September until we fully hit our stride and we remain on track for that.”

Although pleased with the performances from several squad members during Town’s opening fixtures, Grainger feels there are one or two issues both he and managerial partner Karl Johnson need to address.

“Unlike last year we have been pretty strong at the back,” said Grainger.

“Tony Brown has been immense in the centre back role, while Ed Curtis has played superb at right back.

“The problem area at the moment is our midfield as Dave Grainger has not been fully fit and Luke Butcher is yet to make his debut as he has been struggling with a groin strain, which means the midfield has been a bit unsettled.

“Once we have them two fully fit we will be much more solid and it will change the dimension of the team.”

Grainger will be looking for his side to transfer their impressive start in the league over to the FA Vase where they face Thurlow Nunn Premier outfit Mildenhall Town on Saturday.

Over the years Newmarket have proven to be a thorn in the side for their visitors from Recreation Way, and Grainger is hoping that will be the case once again.

If Newmarket are to cause an upset they will have to do so without the services of leading striker James Lane and midfielder Grainger who are both unavailable, along with injury victims Butcher and Curtis.

“I think with Mildenhall’s poor record against us in recent seasons this is the worst possible draw for them,” said Grainger.

“Although we have a few missing we should have a fairly strong team and I think we have a good chance of causing a bit of an upset.

“Although realistically we are not going to win the FA Vase it would be nice to go on a bit of a run in it.”

Tags: News | Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League

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