All sentiment shelved by Guiseley boss St Ledger

GUISELEY interim manager Sean St Ledger is eyeing his own version of '˜Get Carter' in tomorrow's crunch National League encounter at former club Solihull Moors.
Sean St. Ledger.Sean St. Ledger.
Sean St. Ledger.

St Ledger returns to his Birmingham roots for an intriguing fixture against the side who he spent a brief spell with earlier this season after signing a short-term contract, with Moors’ line-up containing the player who lured him back to the West Midlands in ex-Preston North End team-mate Darren Carter.

But with both sides battling to avoid relegation – with Moors looking over their shoulders and just three points above fourth-from-bottom Barrow who have a game in hand – there will be no ‘old pals act’ tomorrow, with friendships to be firmly put to one side for 90 minutes.

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On heading back to Damson Park, St Ledger told the YEP: “I enjoyed my time at Solihull.

Darren Carter.Darren Carter.
Darren Carter.

“I went to school around that area and one of my best friends is playing for them, so that might be a bit strange with me being on the sidelines and him playing. I used to play with Darren at Preston and I speak to him all the time.

“He was the guy who I spoke to before I went to Solihull.

“There’ll been a lot of interest in the game.

“Actually one of my friends from Australia is even coming to the game, I think. He is not flying in just for the game, but I think he will be coming.”

John Rooney.John Rooney.
John Rooney.

Admitting that business and not sentiment will be his sole concern during the game, St Ledger, again without the suspended John Rooney, added: “It is one of those things; when it comes down to it, I am looking to get the points for Guiseley – simple as that, really.

“I have got to approach it just like any other game.

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“It is obviously a big game and we both need to win the game; we know that and they know that and it should be an exciting one with two teams going for it.

“I am sure that Solihull will be looking at it as a game they should win. But we are looking a lot tighter and stronger at the back and we feel we have good attacking players who can cause them a threat.”

Darren Carter.Darren Carter.
Darren Carter.

Rock-bottom Guiseley may head into the game needing the footballing equivalent of a miracle to somehow haul themselves away from the drop zone, but St Ledger believes that their incremental improvement means that they can head south in decent heart following four points from their last two games against Maidstone and Hartlepool United.

Particularly pertinent for St Ledger has been his side’s renewed defensive steel in both games.

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St Ledger added: “The pleasing thing in the last two games is that we have kept two clean sheets and that is something that, as a defender, I base myself on and that is pleasing to see.

“I try to work hard with the back four and look at how other teams play. Last week I knew that Maidstone would put a lot of crosses into the box with big strikers up front and I did sessions where our defenders defended crosses to protect our goal and I thought we did that very well as a back four.

John Rooney.John Rooney.
John Rooney.

“We have had a few chances in these games too and, hopefully, we will try and put them in the back of the net.

He added: “I am very happy with the players’ attitude and mentality and they have worked really hard. I have had no complaints since I have come in and for the majority of the games I have been here, the players have been fantastic.

“I can only think of the Leyton Orient game where they have not done as well as I would have liked.”

Halifax make the long trip to Torquay tomorrow.