Needham Market goalkeeper Marcus Garnham insists dressing room still ‘really positive’ going into key Radcliffe clash as Josh Blunkell signs to compete for his shirt

Needham Market goalkeeper Marcus Garnham - who now has new competition for his shirt (see below)- has outlined the importance of taking three points in tomorrow’s Vanarama National League North home clash with fellow strugglers Radcliffe (3pm) and insists their dressing room remains ‘really positive’ amid the threat of relegation.

The newly-promoted Marketmen, who are currently on a five-game winless run (three draws), go into the fixture bottom of the pile, four places and six points from safety.

But Garnham – who took the chance along with Adam Mils, Tevan Allen and goalscorer Seth Chambers, to play in Needham Market Reserves’ 2-2 Thurlow Nunn League First Division North draw with Harwich & Parkeston with their trip to Brackley Town postponed – insists there is no air of resignation or disharmony in the camp.

“I think the atmosphere in the team, regardless of the league position, has been really positive recently. Training has been really positive,” he said in an interview with the club’s Drew Kendall.

“If you’ve got a good changing room, you can drag yourself out of the tricky situation that we’re in at the moment and hopefully we’ll get a performance against Radcliffe because they’re obviously down there as well so they’re the games we must pick up three points.”

Kevin Horlock’s side, who have not played since New Year’s Day, due to postponements, picked up their first point since promotion to Step 2 with a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture in August, with Garnham reaffirming the importance of maintaining their belief.

“You’ve got to go into a game hoping to get three points. You can’t go into games hoping that we’re going to get a result or wishing,” he said.

“They’ll bring challenges to us. They’ll be physical and quick down the sides.

“It doesn’t mean that we can’t match them and get the points.”

Garnham, speaking after the Reserves’ pulsating 2-2 home draw with second-placed Harwich & Parkeston, in which quickfire late goals from Evan Gledhill (88’) and Seth Chambers (90’+1’) saw a record 145 watch the young Marketmen’s clash.

He said: “I think the youngsters did incredibly well. I thought they were brilliant.

“Harwich are no mugs, they’re flying high in the league and the boys should be really impressed with their intensity in the second half and getting a couple of goals after going a couple down.”

When asked about the increasingly worsening fog in the game, Garnham said: “I just gathered we scored a couple of goals when people were running off celebrating.

“I didn’t actually see the ball go to the back of their net.

“I think they didn’t want it called off because they were 2-0 up and I think by the end they wish they called it off.

“But I think the boys’ second half was brilliant. We went a little bit more direct and then upped the tempo a little bit, like we seem to do down the hill second half since I’ve played a couple of times here already.

“And they deserve to get something from the game to finish, so well done to them.”

On the potential within the club’s academy, Garnham said: “You’d think technically a lot of them are more than capable (of progressing into the first team), but it’s whether they can take that next step to produce performances on a consistent basis, they’ll be able to do that.

“And that’s down to them and the work that they put in.

“The club’s put things in place like the gym for them so that they can be physically ready for the demands of Step 2, Step 3 football.

“But yes, quite a few of them are more than capable of making that step up, but they’ve got to string some good performances together and be consistent, that’s the key thing.”

One keeper in and out one

It comes as Needham have revealed a new addition to their goalkeeper ranks in AFC Sudbury Academy graduate Josh Blunkell.

The highly rated 21-year old started his career at AFC Sudbury before signing for Sky Bet League One side Wycombe Wanderers in 2022, and includes Braintree Town, Kettering Town - for whom he played against Needham for last season - Felixstowe & Walton United, Aveley and St Albans City.

He also featured four times in Braintree's Vanarama National League South promotion-winning campaign and his arrival comes off the back of summer signing from Ipswich Town Danny Cullum departing to do a football scholarship in the USA.

Needham assistant manager Tom Rothery told the club’s website: "It’s hugely important for us to get somebody in after Danny moved abroad and we wanted a similar profile really, a young hungry goalkeeper and we feel Josh fits that perfectly.

“He’s young, ambitious and hugely driven so will be a great addition for us and once we’d spoken I was convinced by that even more so.

“We’re excited to work with him for the remainder of this season."