FC Halifax Town: Striker faces fitness battle ahead of trip to Eastleigh

Town boss Pete Wild rates Rodney as 50-50 to recover in time, as The Shaymen, who sit fourth in the National League, aim to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats.

Wild’s team have drawn a blank in their last two matches, with Rodney the only striker to find the net in the last five games.

Wild started with Rodney and Tobi Sho-Silva in last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Torquay, having paired Jamie Allen with Jack Redshaw up-top against Halesowen in the previous match.

When asked if he had a first choice front two at the moment or if it was up to each of his four strikers to earn their place, Wild said: “It’s a bit of both, it’s up to them to earn their place.

“Obviously we brought Tobi back in on Saturday and I thought he deserved a chance, due to probably how the other forwards had done in recent games, I thought he warranted the chance.

“I thought he took his chance well, he did well. Unfortunately on Saturday, we found out after the game that Devante picked up a slight hamstring strain and that’s why he wasn’t at his best.

“I was frustrated he wasn’t at his best but when I find that out, it all makes sense.

“Generally, Devante is striking through the ball at goal but I didn’t think he was doing that, he wasn’t making the runs he normally would, he wasn’t the normal Devante.

“And then you find that out, so I’m glad we brought him off, because it all makes sense.
“He’s now with the physio and hopefully the physio will get him right and he’ll be ready to go again on Saturday.”

The Shaymen face a second long away trip in the space of eight days following last Saturday’s loss at Torquay.Eastleigh have won just once in their last seven games and are 18th in the National League, just two points above the drop zone.

“It’s another long trip, another tough game,” said Wild. “I know they’re not in the best form but these long trips throw up their own difficulties.

“Hopefully we can get back to winning ways. I didn’t think we were far off on Saturday looking back at the game, we created a lot of chances, we just didn’t take them.

“We’re looking to put that right against a team that’s not in the greatest of form.

“You’ve got to take the long trip into account, so it’s another tough away day.

“When they came to us, I thought they were one of the best sides than have been to The Shay, I think they’ve got some really good footballers.

“I can’t believe where they are in the league, they’re strong, physical and if you let them play, they’ve got some really good footballers that can hurt you.”

Eastleigh have only won once in their last nine league games, and were beaten 3-0 at Harrogate last weekend.

When asked if Eastleigh’s poor form would be part of his pre-match preparations, Wild said: “We’ll certainly discuss it, and we’ll certainly speak to the players about mentality.

“Obviously we’ve been in their position this season where you can’t buy a win, so we know how they feel and we’ve got to make sure that, come five o’clock on Saturday, they still feel the same way and we’re back to winning ways.”

Wild wants his side to be more ruthless after last weekend’s defeat on the south coast.

When asked what his message to his players will be, Wild said: “More of the same, but we need to be more ruthless in the opposition box, and take care in their final third.

“We’ve been working on final third play with the ball and trying to be better and more ruthless, more clinical, sharper in their box.

“Hopefully that’ll be the case come Saturday.

“Looking back at the (Torquay) game, they had a lot of the ball but we had so many chances.

“They never really got behind us or threatened us. Unfortunately the lad’s toed it in from a yard out and they’ve won 1-0.

“We’ve got to take our chances, we’ve got to be more ruthless in their box, not taking too many touches or lashing at things.
“It’s not time to rip it up and start again, we’re joint-third in the league. We’ve just got to be more ruthless in that opposition box.”

Jeff King returns from his two-game suspension on Saturday, while defender Michael Duckworth had his shoulder operation on Tuesday.

Midfielder Jack Earing’s loan at Farsley Celtic has expired, but Wild is hopeful of arranging another deal with the National League North club until the end of the season, with a recall clause.

On winger Josh Macdonald, who has only made one substitute appearance since the turn of the year, Wild said: “Josh is training with us, he’s unfortunately not getting his chance at the moment, but we’ll see how that plays out over the next couple of weeks.”

Follow all the action from Eastleigh on Saturday afternoon on our live blog at www.halifaxcourier.co.uk, and keep uo to date with all the latest FC Halifax Town news and interviews on our dedicated Facebook group here.

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