Thursday 30th December 2010
by Ian Richardson
Matlock boss Mark Atkins reckons 2010 has been a good year. The Gladiators' fate though in 2011 could be decided on how they cope with fixture congestion in what is expected to be a crowded end to the campaign.
 He believes that he has a stronger side than at this time twelve months ago, but still says that the depth in the squad could be an issue.
2010 began with three successive league defeats and by the time they were due to host Kendal Town on February 6th, Matlock were in the relegation zone.
But a 3-0 victory was the start of a run of impressive results that saw them finish in a healthy seventh spot and beat Belper Town in the Derbyshire Senior Cup at Pride Park. This term has seen their hopes of retaining the trophy disappear following a 2-1 defeat to Glapwell, but Town lie in a highly respectable sixth spot in spite of only playing sixteen league fixtures and they look well placed for an assault on the end of season play offs.
"It's been a good year for we've won a lot of games and improved as a team" Atkins remarked. "Our squad is far better than it was at the start of the year. We've improved over the year which is good and I'm very pleased with our efforts. That said, we can still do more and I feel there's more in the tank for us to progress further."
Atkins reflected on two memorable games in 2010.
"Winning the Senior Cup at Pride Park was obviously a highlight, we had a great day out down there. Beating Bedworth 10-0 was also very special, as you don't see that kind of scoreline too often. But there's been lots of games where the lads have worked hard and that's pleasing for they're putting into practice what we've been telling them."
Looking forward to 2011, Atkins wants more of the same, but he acknowledged that the depth of his squad could be a problem.
"The rest of the season is likely to be difficult given the amount of games we've got to play with our small squad," he conceded. "That's why it's important that we win as many games as we can in the next ten to fifteen as the season might take its toll on us. If we can stay injury free and have the rub of the green then there's no reason why we shouldn't remain in the top six and be looking for a play off position, but it's not often that you go into the new year having played only sixteen games."
2010 ended in familiar fashion as Monday afternoon's home derby against Buxton was frozen off.
2011 begins with another derby at Mickleover Sports on New Years Day before Burscough are the scheduled first visitors of the new year to the Reynolds Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon (3pm).
Large pools of water were on the pitch on Tuesday afternoon and the Gladiators have asked fans to come to the ground if they can on New Years Eve to help get the surface firt for play.
Mickleover surprisingly won 2-1 at the Reynolds Stadium on August Bank Holiday Monday, and if Matlock are to exact revenge, Atkins admits that Matlock will need to play well as he forecasts a tough time at Station Road.
"The first twenty or twenty five minutes of that game was probably the worst we'd played since I came to the club, we gifted them both goals to go 2-0 down but after that we had enough chances to have won it. But-full credit to Mickleover on the day.
"Our players though are ready to get playing again, they've trained well and we'll be looking for all three points as we'll be doing in every game from now on. Mickleover have some good forwards and are on a good run, so we definitely can't take them lightly despite their lowly position in the table."
Both James Lukic and Lee Featherstone complete disciplinary bans on New Years Day but will be back in the frame for the Burscough game as Matlock seek a first league double of the season having won 3-0 at Victoria Park in August. Otherwise Matlock should have a clean bill of health, as the New Year will hopefully see all Evo-Stik League clubs return to action.
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