Linnets boss wants players on front foot

Mark Hughes will continue to encourage his King’s Lynn Town team to play with intensity going forward as the National League North title race goes into the final two weeks of the season.

The Linnets have netted 86 times this season and interim boss Hughes has vowed to stay true to his attacking principles as the club’s interim boss takes his side into Lynn’s penultimate home fixture against Southport tomorrow.

Hughes said: “We want to continue playing on the front foot and be exciting to watch for our supporters.

“I’m delighted that we picked up six points out of six over Easter and now there’s another nine to play for.

“We want to pick up as many points as we possibly can and hopefully we can give our supporters another great afternoon.

“It was a 3-3 draw up there and it was an exciting game so we know it isn’t going to be easy. I’ve watched clips of their two games over Easter and I thought they were a little bit unlucky.”

Lynn’s interim chief has won his opening two games in the dugout, but is refusing to give his side the tag of title favourites despite seeing them regain top spot at the expense of AFC Fylde following their 2-0 win at Alfreton on Easter Monday.

“The most important game is the next one,” he said.

“There will be no talk about where we are in the table until 4.45pm on the final Saturday of the season, then we’ll see where we are at.

“At the moment we’ve secured home advantage in the play-off semi-finals, but that’s it.”

Defenders Josh Coulson and Adam Crowther have now provided 15 of Lynn’s goals on the pitch this season after Coulson’s double at the Impact Arena on Easter Monday and Hughes admitted they are a great weapon to have in the opposing box.

“It has been a great return for both of them,” he said.

“It is something we work on in training, it doesn’t happen by chance.

“Their bread-and-butter is to keep the ball out at the other end but they give us such a presence in both boxes.”

Hughes praised Monday’s performance in Derbyshire, saying: “We went there in right frame of mind and wanted to keep the momentum going. You could see our confidence grow every time they delivered a long throw into our box and we defended it.”

The Lynn boss also singled out goalkeeper Tommy Dixon-Hodge for special praise after watching his side keep their third clean sheet in four games.

“Clean sheets are something we are desperate to keep as a group and Tommy has played a big part in that.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye on him and he has taken his chance since coming into the team.

“He shows a calmness and what I also like about him is that he is always smiling. He is a fantastic shot stopper and also a great character to have around.”

While Lynn will continue to concentrate on their own ship, deep down they will be hoping that Boston United and former boss Ian Culverhouse do them a huge favour when the Pilgrims entertain AFC Fylde a few miles up the A17.