AFC Telford United preview: Bucks up for the battle ahead of trip to Chorley
Kevin Wilkin believes AFC Telford United will be in for a 'battle' during their trip to Chorley this weekend.
The Bucks head to Lancashire off the back of two consecutive home wins against Spennymoor and Peterborough Sports, results which have taken them out of the relegation zone and into the top half of the National League North.
Standing in the way of Telford achieving their first three-game winning streak in step two since the 2018/19 season are the fifth-placed Magpies, who have lost two games in a row after a table-topping start to the season.
"Chorley are ultra competitive and it'll be a really difficult place to go," Wilkin said. "I've been there lots of times and it's never been easy to go and win, but that's the challenge you have to face.
"You have to be big enough to deal with these things and hopefully we can go there on the front foot.
"They've had a couple of indifferent results so they'll be looking to respond, and it's probably not an ideal time to play them, but you can never choose that and we'll get on with it.
"We want to sustain our form. The lads have done really well at home, but their surface won't be as good as ours so we'll have to adapt our game a little bit.
"That's what you have to do whenever you go away to these sorts of places. They're a physical team with a lot of experience and a manager who knows exactly what he's doing, so we'll really have to stand up against the battle."
Telford will certainly be without goalkeeper Brandon Hall after he suffered a suspected broken wrist in Tuesday's win over Peterborough Sports, which could keep him side-lined for three months.
Kevin Wilkin has spent the week searching for a replacement after Alfie Brooks left the club to join the youth setup at Wolves, but is yet to finalise a deal for a new number one.
The Bucks were again without Luke Rowe and Matty Stenson in midweek, after Wilkin admitted he had 'got a little ahead of himself' when predicting the pair would return before the weekend.
Jordan Piggott's red card on Tuesday night is not expected to come into effect this weekend due to the 'seven-day rule,' meaning he will be able to line up alongside Oliver Cawthorne at the heart of the Telford back four.
