Skelmersdale United boss Tommy Lawson delighted by strength in depth of his squad

Nov 1 2012 by Neil Jones, Skelmersdale Advertiser

TOMMY LAWSON believes the strength of his Skelmersdale United squad will help keep his players motivated, as his side rides high on the back of a memorable week.

Skem followed up their terrific 3-2 FA Trophy win away to Evo-Stik League Northern Premier Division side Witton Albion on Saturday in fine style, smashing seven goals past fellow promotion contenders Clitheroe on Tuesday evening – see match reports from both games on page 63.

The result against Clitheroe means they have won nine and drawn one of their opening 10 league fixtures this season, and sit in second place in the table, six points behind leaders Mossley but with four games in hand.

“It has been a great month, to be honest,” said Lawson.

“We have played a lot of the big boys in this division, and our performances and results have been fantastic.

“We deserved the win at Witton, and we played some outstanding football at Clitheroe, and I think that result sends out a real message to the rest of this league that we mean business; we are serious about getting promotion this time.”

Lawson was especially pleased to see his side find seven different goalscorers at Clitheroe, and believes the strength in depth at his disposal puts him Skem in a wonderful position with just a quarter of the season gone.

“We must remember that, it is still early days,” he said.

“No prizes get given out in November, so there is a real long road ahead of us.

“But I look around this squad, and there is great depth.

“We were without Paul Woolcott and Tony Rendell, two terrific players, at Clitheroe, then Warren Bellew gets a bad knock and has to be replaced, so we could have been depleted.

“But we weren’t. Rob McIntosh came in and scored, Gary Burnett and Adam Morning came in and scored, Dale Wright came in and did well, so we didn’t miss a beat.”

“I always like to guard against complacency, but I think the strength of our squad does that for me.

“Players know that if they don’t perform, they can be replaced by someone who is equally capable, and that is a great motivator.

“This time last year we stumbled, and we had lots of injuries and suspensions, but I can’t see the same happening this time.”

Skem host Ossett Town this weekend looking to make it 11 unbeaten at the start of the league campaign.

They will be without Rendell, who has knee ligament damage, whilst checks will be made on the fitness of both Bellew and Woolcott.