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‘A team effort’

16/ 4/2008

STALYBRIDGE Celtic manager Steve Burr praised ‘a real team effort’ after watching his side beat Vauxhall Motors 4-1 at Bower Fold.

The Celts consolidated second place in Blue Square North on a day when showers forced Droylsden and Mossley to postpone their home games.

While delighted with the three points, Burr was grateful for the work that had been done by the groundstaff.

He said: "I must say that a lot of the credit has to go to the people behind the scenes for getting the game on. The pitch wasn't bad but they did the work to get it playable. When the match started at 3pm, it was very heavy but they made it into a playable surface. They worked very hard from 11am to get the game on because it was touch and go, so it’s always pleasing when you have people behind the scenes putting their backs into their work and getting a good result for their work."

The three points keep Celtic on track for second spot in the table with two games remaining, the first of which is at home to third-placed AFC Telford United on Saturday.

That game could herald the return of Lee Ellington after three weeks on the sidelines with Burr looking for six points from the last two games.

Central to those hopes is the spread of goals throughout the team with a dozen different players having found the net for Celtic during the season.

Nevertheless, Burr is hoping Celtic can atone for their 3-0 defeat at the end of October.

He said: "They beat us at their place, so we want to beat them at ours. We were disappointing that particular day and I was quite angry after that game with the way we defended – or didn’t defend. I’ve said to the lads that I want to finish second and it’s in our own hands. I want to finish in the play-offs and our aim is to stay in second place."