AFC Fylde players must keep pushing says boss Adam Murray ahead of Kettering clash

Saturday's 2-1 victory at Gloucester City was Fylde's fifth straight win in National League North and head coach Murray wants that run to continue as the fixtures come thick and fast again.

Tomorrow’s visit to Kettering Town is the first of four games in 11 days before Christmas, followed by the festive double-header with Chorley and a total of eight matches in January.

After making the most of two weeks without a Tuesday game, Murray told The Gazette: “They were two weeks I'd been looking at to get some work done and have some input into the players. It was a good time."

It was made all the more enjoyable by Fylde’s fine form. The Coasters stand sixth but are only six points off the top with four games in hand on the top three sides.

But Murray insists Fylde are far from the finished article and believes his key challenge is to convince the players of their own potential to scale greater heights.

He added: “It's a decent run and there's a lot more to come.

"It's a question of how strong the mentality is and how far they want to push. There's a lot more still within the group and you need to push every day.”

The temporary easing of the fixture congestion has helped forwards Luke Charman and Danny Rowe with their recoveries, though Murray gave a disappointing update on the recurrence of Tom Walker’s hamstring injury.

“Tom will be out for a few weeks,” he said. “It isn't the greatest news and we need to get his recovery right.”

And full-back Luke Conlan failed to return for the second half at Gloucester after what Murray described as “quite a nasty whack”.

He added: “Luke will be touch and go for the weekend. We won't take risks with people but Jordan (Cranston) came on for the second half at Gloucester and was outstanding.”

Kettering are just two points above the bottom three and are without a win in four games, but Murray warns that is only part of the story.

"Kettering's home form is really good (four wins and two draws from their last six) and that's in part down to how well they they play their pitch,” he said. “It isn't the greatest but we're happy to be adaptable and it's another challenge for us.”

Murray finds himself with a new boss this week after Chris Beech was appointed Fylde's first director of football.

The Blackpool-born former Seasider, who also played for Hartlepool United and Huddersfield Town and managed Carlisle United, has control of all football-related matters at the club and Murray welcomes his arrival.

“This is an important appointment for me,” he said. “I've always been in the environment of working with a director of football. It's something new to this level and for a lot of a people at our club but it's something I'm very familiar with. Chris is a football man and I look forward to forming a positive relationship with him.”