HIS New Year resolution was to instil a degree of consistency into his Durham City side, so for Lee Collings, so far so good.
Now it gets trickier. The Esh Group Stadium outfit began 2011 with a draw at Garforth Town and a home win over Bamber Bridge.
Facing fourth-placed FC Fylde today – subject to the weather – Collings knows the task is an altogether tougher one.
But more of the same as Monday’s 2-1 victory over the Bridge has left the City boss confident of sending his young team out against anything Evo-Stik North has to offer.
“I can’t complain about the way we’ve started 2011, I’ve been delighted,” said Collings, whose only doubt is Ross Wilkinson (virus).
“We’ve had an away win and a very good home win against a good side, and we’ve deserved at least the points we’ve taken from those games.
“We were exceptional on Monday against Bamber Bridge. The goalkeeper Lewis Graham and back four were excellent and the lads further up the pitch did a magnificent job.
“We didn’t start the game at Garforth on New Year’s Day quite as well, it took us half an hour and their goal to wake us up.
“But once we got going it was a different matter, and we were worth at least a draw.
“Going to Fylde won’t be easy though, they’re probably one of the best, if not the best, footballing sides we’ve played this season.
“We did very well against them at our place, it was one of our better performances.
“We went 1-0 up and were playing some great stuff but they were just too clever for us and scored three worldies if I remember rightly. They’ve got a fair bit of money behind them, and an experienced manager in (ex-Middlesbrough goalkeeper) Kelham O’Hanlon, so it’ll be a tough task.
“Our New Year resolution at the club is to find a bit more consistency, and I think we can.
“The way we’ve been playing, if we can just cut out the daft mistakes, I believe we can start climbing the table.
“If we can re-produce the way we played on Monday I’d be happy to out us up against anyone in the league.”
Collings welcomes back James Winter following his concussion on New Year’s Day, and Mark Batey, who has recovered from a long-term toe injury.
