Pitmen pleased with break

Hednesford boss Phil Starbuck reckons his team's current break from action will help his players shake off injuries and gear up for the Christmas programme.

The Pitmen had a blank day on their fixture list today, meaning they have two weeks without a game before they face Whitby at Keys Park in their next match in the Unibond League.

And Starbuck is delighted that his squad have two weeks in which their lengthy injury list can begin to clear.

He said: "We have had a very difficult few weeks in which the lads have worked really hard so I think this is a really welcome break.

"To be honest it could give the lads the chance to recharge their batteries and give us a chance to get everyone together.

"We have had a really tough first phase to the season and we have had so many injuries in the last few weeks, but hopefully they are starting to clear up."

Mario Pedro, Reece Styche and Chad Shepherd are on a list of walking wounded who Starbuck hopes to have back in time for the hectic festive programme of matches.

And he believes they have the tools to cope with a congested fixture schedule.

He said: "The lads in our squad behave professionally and the way they train means they are always well prepared for every match that we have.

"It will be a busy time of the season but we will make sure that the players are ready and properly prepared every time they go on the field."

And with the enforced period of inactivity giving him time to take stock of the first period of the campaign, Starbuck has declared himself happy so far.

He said: "I think it has been difficult so far because we have had a lot of injuries so far and there has been the odd difficulty off the pitch.

"But we should have beaten Ilkeston and one or two others and I'm generally pleased with how we have done."