Matt Jansen's non-league column

Chorley boss writes exclusively for the Lancashire PostIt's been a difficult couple of weeks for most football sides up and down the country.
Dave (left) and Michael Jennings run Jennings' Gym in Coppull where we've been trainingDave (left) and Michael Jennings run Jennings' Gym in Coppull where we've been training
Dave (left) and Michael Jennings run Jennings' Gym in Coppull where we've been training

Given the outrageous weather we’ve all seen, many matches have had to be postponed.

And in a week where we were due to be playing in a cup semi-final and face two crucial league matches at home to Stockport County and Spennymoor Town, we’ve had to settle for 
intense but rewarding training sessions.

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It’s not easy when you’re expecting to be playing in pivotal matches to hear they’ve been postponed, but that’s football.

I’ve got to thank every single one of the volunteers who have made their way to Victory Park over the past few weeks, with their shovels and spades, in an effort to get the matches on.

That is a prime example of the community and family spirit we all share at this great club, and myself and all the players really appreciate your efforts.

Myself, Jamie Vermiglio, Jonathan Smith and all the players have been training hard over the past week, none more so than on Saturday when we had a really intense fitness session at Jennings Gym. It’s a fantastic facility and we’ve trained there a couple of times before, particularly in pre-season in an effort to build the lads’ fitness up.

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The three postponements we’ve had over the past week have meant there is a bit of a fixture pile-up for the rest of March, but that can be beneficial at times.

The momentum you can build from a long list of back-to-back matches can prove to be make or break, and I’m hopeful we can keep up the unbeaten run we’ve been on since the end of January and 
push for a place in the play-offs come the end of April.

Our next match is scheduled for this coming Saturday, when we face a long trip down to Leamington.

We then face Spennymoor Town at home the following Tuesday, before another long trip down south to Brackley Town on the 17 February.

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Our Lancashire FA Partners Foundation Challenge Trophy semi-final against Lancaster City has been rescheduled for March 28, and the home match in the league against Stockport County is yet to be rearranged.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – we need your continued support to reach the goal of the play-offs come the end of the season, particularly in what will be an intense run-in.

Your support can make the difference between us collecting all three points or just one, and I know you will back us in your numbers for the remaining fixtures of this crazy 2017-18 season.