Next up: Redditch United. Venue: Rivacre Park. Date: Saturday, December 11. AT THE start of the season Redditch faced the biggest task of adjusting to life in Nationwide North with league restructuring ensuring they had jumped up two divisions.
The Worcestershire outfit turned out in the Dr Martens League Western Division in the 2003/04 campaign but progressed through the play-offs to book their place in the new regional set-up.
But the club are flying high in the top half of the table and could have been even nearer to the summit had they not been deducted three points for a breach in league rules.
Striker Scott Voice had been loaned out to Solihull Borough but came on as a substitute with 15 minutes to go in a league match, a day before his loan spell had expired.
Without the error, Redditch could have been as high as second but the club have taken the setback in their stride and are enjoying their results.
Back in August just avoiding the drop would have been seen as success in what was expected to be a season of consolidation but manager Rod Brown has now set his sights on holding out for a top-half finish.
The boss has brought several faces to supplement last season's squad as although he wanted to give the players who had got the club to this level the opportunity to prove themselves at a higher level, reality has forced him to make widespread changes.
Arguably Brown's best piece of business was the acquisition of prolific marksman, 'Stormin' Norman Sylla from Conference side Tamworth.
Although Sylla was highly-regarded by his previous employer's chairman, he had fallen out of favour with the club's management team and initially arrived at Redditch on loan. A glut of goals followed in his month-long spell, including all four in a 4-1 thrashing of Vauxhall in September and after briefly returning to Tamworth, Brown was able to strike a deal to bring back 'Stormin' Norman' on a permanent basis.
Form guide: Dec 7 W 1-0 v Stafford Rangers (H); Dec 4 L 5-3 v Worksop Town (A); Nov 27 W 1-0 v Wakefield & Emley (A): Nov 20 W 2-1 v Harrogate Town (H); Nov 13 L 0-1 v Altrincham (H).
