Hucknall Town ready for return to action with four home games

Hucknall Town’s new ground will host its first league game this weekend.

Hucknall Town finally look set to return to competitive action this weekend following a break of over a month.

The match with Harrowby United on Saturday will also be the first competitive fixture at the club’s brand new RM Stadium and the first of four straight home games in the space of 11 days.

And boss Andy Ingle says his players can’t wait to get going once again, having not played a league game since the 2-1 win at Radford on December 3.

He said: “It’ll be a big relief to get back at it, especially at the new ground.

"To be fair to the lads, we’ve been able to get a lot of training in on all weather surfaces and the whole squad has been coming to each session, even those right around Christmas, so fitness-wise we should be OK.

"But there is no substitute for proper game play and one or two in the reserve game we played this week looked a bit sluggish but that’s to be expected.

"So we’ll look to hit the ground running and hopefully get some points on the board.”

Harrowby currently sit 16th in the league standings on 20 points, compared to Hucknall’s fifth place on 42 – 20 points behind leaders Aylestone Park but with four games in hand.

Following Saturday’s game, they’ll then welcome Bourne Town next Wednesday night, West Bridgford three days later and then Grantham Town Development on January 18th. Their next away game is at the league leaders on January 21.

Ingle said: “Most teams have struggled to get games in – I don’t know how much they’ve all trained but we’re all in a similar boat really and it’s been a bit like a mini close-season. So having lots of quick games in succession is no bad thing.”

Personnel-wise, Ingle says he’s largely happy with those in his current squad.

He said: “We’ve got really good depth and cover in every position. Those on the bench are as good as those starting but the thing is that those who have been starting have played that well that those on the bench haven’t had much opportunity.

"You need depth and I think we have that which is important because obviously injuries and niggles will play a part at some point.”