Bury Town boss Coke Skuse ready to embrace side being Christmas number one in Isthmian League North Division if they avoid defeat to Brightlingsea Regent
While most managers will play down the significance of their side heading into Christmas top of the tree, Bury Town boss Cole Skuse is ready to embrace the feeling with his players and the club’s supporters.
Should the Blues avoid defeat at home to ninth place Brightlingsea Regent today (3pm) that feeling of being the Christmas number one in the Pitching In Isthmian League North Division will become a reality.
And for Skuse, who has seen his side now win six on the spin, following Saturday’s pleasing gritty 1-0 win on a difficult pitch at Tilbury, it would be a just reward for all their efforts.
He said: “You can give a generic blanket answer of ‘it’s only this part of the season’ and you’ve got loads of games to go, but with complete honesty, it’s the position you want to be in and you strive and work extremely hard for,” he said.
“I say to the players all the time, you don’t go through all the sacrifices around work and family life like we all do to try and finish mid-table. You strive to be the best in your field in what you do, like in any walk of life.
“So to be in a position we’re in now with points on the board not with games in hand trying to chase teams with points on the board, we’re in the position we want to be in and everyone else would like to be in.
“It’s now the ultimate challenge for us staying consistent with our performances, with our beliefs and what we’re trying to achieve to maintain it for the rest of the season.”
Their latest victory came about via Cemal Ramadan scoring what was his 16th goal of the campaign in the 19th minute, dispatching clinically inside the box after a Max Maughn led attack broke for him.
But there was still plenty of work to do from that point with goalkeeper Charlie Beckwith proving once again why he is so highly thought of by the Skuse and his staff with a series of key saves keeping the Dockers at bay.
While it may not have been a game for the neutral to savour, it was one Skuse felt spoke volumes about his side.
“I’d say one of our most impressive afternoons,” he said, “there were no sprinkles on top, it wasn’t a performance where you come away absolutely dominating a football as such or having large chunks of possession but so pleasing in the sense that as we turned up on a pitch that wasn’t so kind and we showed a side of us that we probably didn’t have as much last season.
“We had a real desire to defend balls that came into the box, a real desire to block shots but also alongside that we did try and be really brave in possession, still trying to play on what was a really tricky surface and scored a really good goal.
“So overall it was one of my most pleasing afternoons throughout the season, albeit it’s one that you wouldn’t want to watch back in a hurry, a really pleasing afternoon and a really good result against a good side away from home.”
On their next opponents, Brightlingsea, he said: “The cluster of fixtures that we got coming up there's some real tough tests in there, starting with Brightlingsea who are a real good group that have got some real good players.
“We’ll have to treat it like we would any other game.”
Ryan Jolland is back from a one-game suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards while full-back Joe Carroll is said to be ‘making his way back quicker from a knee injury than anticipated’.
Midfielder’s departure confirmed
Skuse also confirmed central midfielder Louis Henman-Mason, who had suffered an ACL injury last season, has departed on a permanent transfer to Thurlow Nunn League Premier leaders Fakenham Town.
Skuse said: “He’s decided to go and permanently join Fakenham.
“He was brilliant for us the first part of last season where he then unfortunately picked up an injury, but he was really, really good for us and a real good lad and a real good player, so we wish him all the best.”
