RUGBY TOWN: Boss Stringer takes charge for 250th time this weekend

Valley take on promotion chasing Coleshill Town
Rugby Town Manager Dave StringerRugby Town Manager Dave Stringer
Rugby Town Manager Dave Stringer

Rugby Town manager Dave Stringer takes charge of his 250th game in all competitions for the club this weekend, when Valley travel to the north of the county to try and dent Coleshill’s bid for promotion from the MFL Premier Division.

Town will be looking to extend their two match winning run at Pack Meadow, after Stringer’s 249th ended with a deserved 2-0 home success over Quorn on Saturday.

Conor Wright at right back last week against Quorn   PICTURES BY MARTIN PULLEYConor Wright at right back last week against Quorn   PICTURES BY MARTIN PULLEY
Conor Wright at right back last week against Quorn PICTURES BY MARTIN PULLEY
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It has been a month of milestones for the Rugby manager, with March’s opening fixture – a 4-1 victory against Heanor – representing both his 200th league game as boss and his 300th as part of a Town management team, which incorporates a one-year stint as Martin Sockett’s assistant for the 2010/11 season.

Stringer is still way behind the club’s longest serving manager - the late Jimmy Knox, who notched up more than 700 games in the 1980s and 90s, but is now within touching distance of current second-placed incumbent Tony Dobson, who - like Stringer - enjoyed two spells in the Valley hot-seat.

Assuming the ex-Shepshed, Coalville and Chasetown boss remains for another crack at the MFL challenge next season, he should pass Dobson’s tally within the first month of the campaign, but for now he will be concentrating on gathering as many points as possible from Town’s remaining 12 league outings.

Eight of these dozen games will be played away from home, and the first of these sees him lock horns again with his former assistant at Chasetown - Cameron Stuart.

David Kolodynski scored the second goal for Rugby Town in their win on SaturdayDavid Kolodynski scored the second goal for Rugby Town in their win on Saturday
David Kolodynski scored the second goal for Rugby Town in their win on Saturday
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Rugby will be looking for only their second double of the 2017/18 term, after they inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Coleshill in the reverse fixture at Butlin Road back in the middle of September.

Josh Ruff’s stoppage time winner rounded off a solid Rugby performance that day against the then leaders, but the defeat was only a minor blip for the visitors and in addition to their current lofty league position, they also enjoyed a decent run in the FA Vase until losing in the fifth round of the competition to Bracknell.

For the second game running, David Kolodynski and Ruben Wiggins-Thomas were both on-target in the Quorn win, as they continue to battle it out for Town’s end of the season top scorer prize.

Kolodynski currently has 23 goals to Wiggins-Thomas’s 21, after the club changed its stats to mirror the totals listed by the Midland Football League – which include Kolodynski’s goal in the abandoned Coventry Copsewood League Cup tie.

Conor Wright at right back last week against Quorn   PICTURES BY MARTIN PULLEYConor Wright at right back last week against Quorn   PICTURES BY MARTIN PULLEY
Conor Wright at right back last week against Quorn PICTURES BY MARTIN PULLEY
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# Bromsgrove still head the MFL Premier Division table on 69 points – three ahead of Valley’s hosts on Saturday, with seventh placed Rugby a distant 22 points behind the top team.

Following Saturday’s fixture, Town then travel to Stourport next Thursday (March 22), before hosting Westfields two days later.

They end the month with two further away games at Shawbury and Coventry Sphinx on the 28th and 31st respectively.

# The club coach to Coleshill on Saturday will leave Butlin Road at 12.15 pm, with Thursday’s to Stourport scheduled for 4.30pm.

David Kolodynski scored the second goal for Rugby Town in their win on SaturdayDavid Kolodynski scored the second goal for Rugby Town in their win on Saturday
David Kolodynski scored the second goal for Rugby Town in their win on Saturday

For latest information, contact Tony Mann on 07970 691366.

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# The club are looking for volunteers to help with their Car Boot Sales which are held every Sunday in the main Butlin Road car park.

The events raise valuable funds for the club and this year’s schedule is set to start on March 25 and run into the autumn.

Anyone who has a few hours to spare on a Sunday morning and would like to help out should also contact Tony Mann on 07970 691366 for more details.