DROITWICH captain James Shewell admits the squad was not quite at the races despite recording their 15th-straight Midlands Three West (South) victory on Saturday.
After beating title rivals Evesham 37-3 at the end January, Droitwich further boosted their hopes of an instant return to Midlands Two West (South) with a 38-10 victory at fellow title hopefuls Ledbury.
Victory for Droitwich means they now have a 17-point gap over Ledbury with just seven games remaining, but Shewell insists the job is not done just yet.
“We did not perform out our best for the full 80 minutes if I’m being brutally honest,” he said.
“We had a really good first half but the rest was a niggle, however, when we need to be clinical we was and that’s what mattered.
“It was a bit disappointing that we did not play to our best and that the game was more comfortable than what we thought it would be.
“We will certainly have tougher games this season so we have got to just keep taking each game as it comes.”
There will be no let up from Droitwich as they bid to make it 16 wins out of 16 tomorrow (Saturday) when they welcome mid-table Manor Park to the Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground.
The squad is expected to be rotated for the game to give players who have not seen any game time some much-needed minutes.
And with Ledbury taking on Evesham this weekend, Shewell told the Standard it’s important the players focus on their own game and don’t get distracted.
“It was good to beat Ledbury as it takes some pressure off us and hopefully by the time we play Evesham in the cup we will be there or thereabouts in terms of promotion,” he added.
“However we have to keep going until we complete our mission.
“We have got a bid squad so this weekend gives a chance for other players to stake a claim for themselves especially as shirts will be up for grabs for the cup game at Evesham.
“Ledbury could drop points again this weekend but we have to concentrate on winning our own games – something which we have done all season so far.”
The previous meeting between Droitwich and Manor Park came at the end of October when Shewell and the rest of his team-mates recorded a 22-5 victory.
Kick off at the Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground is 2.15pm.
