Alex Chatterton is desperate to celebrate his 100th Underbank appearance by inspiring his side to a much-needed National Conference League Second Division triumph at home to Askam tomorrow.
The former Giants Academy player will become only the third player to reach the milestone and follow in the footsteps of Lee St Hilaire and Neil Barrett.
And with Bank looking to pick up the pieces of successive defeats at Millom and Dewsbury Celtic, the 23-year-old knows how important this weekend is for all concerned
“This season has been disappointing so far, I wouldn’t say it has been tougher than we expected but we’ve not performed to the standards we can achieve,” said Chatterton.
“We’ve got the potential to be a great side, but we’re just not clicking as team yet. It’s something we need to do quickly and get right otherwise it’ll be a long season.
“Making my 100 appearances is something that makes me really proud, especially at my age.
“But it will be better if we get back on track against Askam. Cumbrian sides are always tough, but we are at home where we are always decent. I’ve only lost seven or eight times at The Cross, it’s a real fortress.”
And it will need to be a fortress, with Askam having won four of their opening five matches to occupy third place in the league.
In contrast, mid-table Rangers are looking to avoid a fourth defeat from their opening six games.
It’s something Underbank are more than capable of achieving, although head coach Richard Knight knows his players are going to have top dig deep.
“We are doing it tough at the moment,” admitted Knight.
“Injuries are hitting us hard, and we’ll be going into this game without our two hookers in Andy Boothroyd (shoulder) and Stephen Berry (knee) and our scrum-half James Usher (foot). That would hit any team hard.
“But we know if everyone plays to their potential and we don’t lose concentration – switching off during games is proving a big problem – then we can be a match for anyone.
“There’s no way I can fault our effort and enthusiasm, it’s just a case of cutting out the dumb errors and respecting our possession.
“We know if we can sort that out, the wins will start coming on a regular basis. We know if we do that we can definitely beat Askam this weekend.”
