Northern League: Horden CW boss Payne relishing Boro Rangers clash

Horden CW manager Jonny Payne has warned his players they will face a Boro Rangers side full of ‘extreme quality’ when the two sides meet at Welfare Park on Saturday.

Both sides have enjoyed largely positive seasons so far and will head into this weekend’s game sitting just outside of the play-off places in the Northern League’s top tier. The meeting with provide Payne and his side with a major test of their top five credentials after their visitors reached last year’s play-offs before suffering a semi-final loss against Newcastle Blue Star and now look well on their way to another promotion push.

Ahead of Saturday’s game, Payne praised Rangers for the impact they have made since they secured promotion two years ago and believes their achievements show the benefits of retaining faith with the core of a successful squad.

He told The Echo: “All of my experiences facing Boro Rangers have been positives ones because they play good football and they are similar to us. They’re a group of lads that have gone through the leagues together and they are at the club for the right reasons. I think they are a team that I have looked at and thought I can relate to them because they are exactly how I run my side. They’ve got good individuals but they’re an even stronger team. They are hard but fair and they have got extreme quality all over the pitch.

“There is a lot of money in the league so at certain points of the season, you can quite easily add two of three players if you have that budget. There is quality across the league and clubs that can do that but I think ourselves and Boro Rangers have shown that you can progress from the second division by keeping a squad together and just adding to it carefully.”

Fixtures

Friday: Whickham v North Shields Saturday: Crook Town v Northallerton Town, Guisborough Town v Easington Colliery, Horden CW v Boro Rangers, Marske United v West Allotment Celtic, Newcastle Benfield v Kendal Town, Penrith v West Auckland Town, Shildon v Carlisle City, Thornaby v Birtley Town, Whitley Bay v Newcastle Blue Star

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