Tadcaster Albion boss Mick O'Connell not worried by league position after cup exploits

The Brewers currently sit 17th in the 20-team NCEL Premier Division having not played in the competition since losing 2-0 at Goole more than a fortnight previously.

Their fine FA Cup run, which was ended at the second qualifying round stage by a 3-1 defeat to a strong Chester team who play their football three divisions higher in National League North, has meant that Albion have not completed as many league fixtures as most of their rivals.

Last Saturday saw them in FA Vase action, losing 2-1 at home to Blyth Town, leaving them with as many as four games in hand on some Premier Division sides.

Thus, boss O’Connell feels that Taddy are in a false position, and is expecting to see significant progress in the coming weeks.

“I’m not worrying about our league position at this stage,” he said. “To be honest, I’m not even looking at it because we have got three, even four games in hand on some teams.

"It will even out sooner rather than later. You look at this league and everyone is beating everyone else. If we go on a little run and win three or four in a row, we’ll be right back in contention towards the right end of the table.

“I am quietly confident that we are a match for most teams. I think every game is winnable, but only if we are performing above 90 percent. The nature of this league means that if you don't perform somewhere near your best, then you will always drop points.

"We’ve produced some good performances, but not enough of them. We have to be more consistent. We need to take the consistency we showed to win three FA Cup games on the bounce into the league and start finding ways to win the kind of fixtures that we’ve lost at Goole and Pickering.

"You shouldn’t forget that this is a new team and it’s still bedding in. I think it will be after Christmas before you see the very best of us, but we need to find that consistency quickly.”

This Saturday, Albion visit 16th-placed Eccleshill United (3pm).