Murray fires warning ahead of Kidderminster Harriers' play-off showdown

Adam Murray has warned that history counts for nothing as Kidderminster Harriers aim to repeat their triumph of just two weeks ago and secure promotion.

On April 25, in the final game of the regular National League North season, Harriers completed a double over South Shields to record a sixth straight win.

Now, just 14 days later, they face the same opponents again in the North East, with 90 minutes standing between them and a place in English football’s fifth tier.

“I'll be hoping for the same result,” admitted Kidderminster boss Murray.

“It is double-edged - a positive, playing them so close to this game, and negative because we knew this was always a possibility.

“It's given us a real opportunity to look at them closely and to tweak things that we need to and maximise things where we feel we can hurt them.

“But when you actually really look into it, does it make that much difference? Probably not.

“After 46, 47 games now, each team knows each other inside out. The fact we played each other so closely doesn't really have an effect.

“We both know what we're about. We both know what each side brings. It'll come down to, on the day, the best team winning.

“When you get into games like this, there's a lot of things that go out the window.

“We're very focused on what we need to do and what we've been doing and what we need to take into this game.”

Harriers will be hoping to return to the National League at the second attempt, after suffering play-off heartbreak last year.

For Murray, who took the reins last summer, a successful campaign would feel particularly sweet.

He added: “It'd obviously mean a great deal. Any promotion is always an achievement.

“I think the fact of the building that's gone on this season, we've virtually had to start from scratch this season.

“It's not as if we were coming in and taking over the same group of players that missed out last season.

“We've had to build everything from scratch this season, which I do believe is an even bigger achievement to get to this point. It's about now, one day, one game.

“That's all the focus has been. We understand what we need to do and we'll try our best to get it over the line.”

South Shields finished second in the table, just above Kidderminster. They beat Buxton to reach the final, while Harriers overcame Macclesfield.