52 Nottingham Post Friday April 4, 2014 NEP-E01-S2 EP01 NEP-E01-S2 EP01 Nottingham Post Friday April 4, 2014 53For breaking sports news go to nottinghampost.com For breaking sports news go to nottinghampost.com

JONATHON Viscosi is not let-ting his St Mirren disappoint-ment get to him as he aims tofollow his dream and become aprofessional footballer.

Viscosi, currently withCarlton Town, has been train-ing at AFC Wimbledon as heaims to force his way into theFootball League.

Wimbledon is one of numer-ous clubs that he has beentraining with in a bid to get hisname known.

“My aim is to train with nu-merous different clubs and getmyself in front of as many goal-keeping coaches as possible,”Viscosi said.

“My travels have seen metrain with Torquay, Oxford,Birmingham and Mansfield.”

His move to Nottingham, andhis current club Carlton, wasbrought about by a friend whoknew the chairman.

“A friend at my former clubTiverton, who is over here try-ing to make it as a footballerlike me, recommended me tothe chairman,” he said.

“When Martin Kearney gotinjured, the chairman rang meand asked me whether I wouldlike to join.

“I have really enjoyed mytime in Nottingham and it ishelpful being more central andcloser to more league clubs.”

When St Mirren came callingViscosi, who first took up goal-keeping when he was ten, wasdelighted.

Everything ran smoothly un-til the final moment, when themove fell apart.

“That week I was meant to betraining with QPR but St Mir-ren called and said come up,”he said.

“They were keen to sign mestraight away, unlike many oth-er clubs who weren’t looking at

BASFORD United recordedtheir biggest NorthernCounties East League awaywin of the season as they won7-0 at Bridlington Town onWe d n e s d ay.

Leading scorer TyiesseNightingale and debutant Stu-art Hendrie, playing alongsideelder brother Lee, both scoredh at - t r i ck s.

Basford boss Martin Car-ruthers was delighted with theperfor mance.

“Our passing and movementwas tremendous, one of thebest displays since I have beenin charge,” he said.

“We need to maintain thislevel in our remainingg ames.”

On Saturday, Bridlingtoncome to Basford for the returnfixture (3pm).

Basford will be without thesuspended Nightingale and theunavailable Fabian Smith, Wil-lis Francis and Francis Green.

However, keeper Ali Bar-cherini and Martin Holt, whoboth missed the midweekgame, will be available.Squad: Barcherini, Boafo, Fletcher, Holt,Craven, Davies, Leslie, Lee Hendrie,Whitehurst, Stuart Hendrie, Theo Smith,Simmons, Anderson, Miles, O’malley,Downie, Carruthers.

On Tuesday, RadcliffeOlympic lost 2-1 against St An-drews at the RecreationG ro u n d .

This result means they re-main 15th in the table.

On Saturday they are away tobottom-of-the-table BarrowTown (3pm), with Ben Elliottand Ryan Smith set to return.Squad: Soal, Winch, Bee, D. Smith,Elliott (C), Thompson, Durham, Kemp, J.Smith, R. Smith, Thomas, Price,Plummer, Burton, Whitt, Gilmartin,Hegarty.

Dunkirk, who are 18th in theMidland Alliance table, travelto 17th-placed ContinentalS t a r.

With both sides locked on 30points, three points above therelegation zone, a win foreither would push them fur-ther clear of the drop zone.Squad: Want, Zizaruk-Gibson, Brown,Desrosiers, Hastie, Burton, Gwinnutt,Upton, Granville, Walters, Fitzhugh, Eliker,Gordon, Green, Coutts, Samba, Wilcox,Freeman, Pemberton, Lusamba, Coutts,Simms, Dobbie, Dudley.

MANAGER Scott Rickardsquestioned his players’ d e s i refollowing a heavy defeat forRainworth MW at KidsgroveAthletic last week.

But he has backed them torespond against Romulus to-mor row.

The Grove had gone into thematch on the back of sixstraight defeats and were lan-guishing at the foot of Evo-StikLeague First Division South,but claimed a 4-1 victory.

Rickards said: “T hereseemed to be no passion, nodesire to go out and win a foot-ball match for the club which isemploying the players, andthat is something I’ve neverhad to question before.”

“I still believe we can get itback tomorrow against Romu-l u s.

“However, we can only gowith the same squad and thesame mentality, so we need tosee what I believe they have tooffer coming to fruition.”

Viscosi focused on Millersafter move falls through

Carruthers hopes tobuild on away win

Rainworth need toshow greater desire

Football Match Live Centre tomorrow – keeping you up to date on the Stags game at www.nottinghampost.com

TomorrowPremier League: Man City vSouthampton, Aston Villa v Fulham,Cardiff v Crystal Palace, Hull v Swansea,Newcastle v Man Utd, Norwich v WestBrom, Chelsea v Stoke.Championship: Wigan v Leeds, Barnsleyv Brighton, Blackburn v Ipswich,Blackpool v Yeovil, Bournemouth v QPR,Charlton v Reading, Doncaster vBirmingham, Huddersfield v Bolton,Middlesbrough v Derby, Nottm Forest vMillwall, Watford v Burnley.League One: Bradford v Oldham,Brentford v Notts County, Bristol City vPreston, Carlisle v Swindon, Colchester vTranmere, Coventry v MK Dons, Crawley vCrewe, Gillingham v Rotherham, Port Valev Walsall, Sheff Utd v Leyton Orient,Shrewsbury v Stevenage, Wolves vPeterborough.League Two: Accrington v Northampton,Wimbledon v Bristol Rovers, Burton vPlymouth, Bury v Exeter, Cheltenham vSouthend, Chesterfield v Newport,Morecambe v Mansfield, Oxford Utd vFleetwood, Portsmouth v Hartlepool,Rochdale v York, Torquay v Scunthorpe,Wycombe v Dag & Red.Skrill Conference Premier: Alfreton vWelling, Barnet v Forest Green, Braintreev Salisbury, Cambridge v Southport,Chester v Hyde, Gateshead v Tamworth,Hereford v Woking, Kidderminster vGrimsby, Lincoln City v Dartford, Luton vAldershot, Nuneaton v Halifax, Wrexham vMacclesfield.Evo-Stik LeaguePremier Division: Fylde v Stocksbridge,Ashton v Ilkeston, Barwell v Buxton, BlythSpartans v FC Utd of Manchester, Chorleyv Droylsden, Grantham v Frickley, Marinev Whitby, Matlock v Witton, Nantwich vTrafford, Skelmersdale v Stamford,Stafford v Kings Lynn, Worksop v Rushall.First Division South: Belper v LincolnUtd, Brigg v Bedworth, Chasetown vKidsgrove, Coalville v Newcastle, Leek vCarlton Town, Loughborough Dynamo vGoole, Mickleover Sports v HalesowenTown, Rainworth Miners Welfare vRomulus, Scarborough Ath v MarketDrayton, Sutton Coldfield v Sheffield FC.NCELPremier Division:Albion Sports vStaveley, Armthorpe v Pickering, Basfordv Bridlington, Brighouse v Worksop,Garforth v Nostell, Heanor v Liversedge,Lincoln MR v Retford, Maltby Main vAthersley Rec, Tadcaster vGlasshoughton W, Thackley v Barton,Winterton v Long Eaton.Division One: Bottesford v Clipstone,Cleethorpes v Selby, Hall Road vDinnington, Hallam v Eccleshill,Knaresborough v Grimsby Borough, Louthv Emley, Pontefract v App-Frod,Rossington v Yorkshire Am, Shirebrook vTeversal, Worsbrough Bridge v Dronfield.Midland Football Alliance: Boldmere vQuorn, Causeway v Wulfrunians,Continental v Dunkirk, Gornal vAlvechurch, Heath Hayes v Stourport,Heather St John's v Coleshill, KirbyMuxloe v Walsall Wood, LoughboroughUni v Westfields, Rocester v Highgate,Tipton v Shepshed, Tividale v Coventry.East Midlands Counties Premier:Barrow v Radcliffe Olympic, Borrowash Vicv Bardon Hill, Gedling v Radford, GrahamSt Prims v Ellistown & Ibstock,Greenwood M v Holbrook Sports, HolwellSports v Aylestone Park, Stapenhill vAnstey, Sutton v Blaby & Whetstone,Thurnby Nirvana v Arnold.FA Vase: St Andrews v West Auckland.Central Midlands LeagueBlack Dragon Division North: AFCMansfield v Westella Hanson, Clay Crossv Kinsley, Easington v Harworth, Glapwellv Newark, Ollerton v Welbeck, Thoresby vPhoenix, Thorne Colliery v Brodsworth.Black Dragon Division South: Allentonv Bulwell, Bilborough v South Normanton,Blidworth v Clifton, Holbrook v Calverton,Pinxton v Belper, Real Utd v Hucknall,Swanwick v Mickleover Royals.Reserve Supreme: Dunkirk Res vTeversal Res, Holbrook Res v BorrowashRes, Long Eaton Res v Dronfield Res,Staveley Res v Heanor Res.Reserve Premier: Mickleover Res vBelper Res, South Normanton Res vSwanwick Res, Welbeck Res v NewarkRes.Pheonix Trophies Reserve LeagueCup: Sherwood Res v Thoresby Res.Precision NSLSenior Division: Attenborough vHucknall, Awsworth v Cotgrave, Beeston vSelston, Boots v Magdala, NottinghamUtd v Burton Joyce, Ruddington v FCCavaliers, Wollaton v Kimberley MW.Division One: Bingham v Awsworth Res,Hucknall Res v Wollaton Res, MagdalaRes v Kirton B, Nottinghamshire v WestBridgford, Radcliffe Res v Southwell Res,Ruddington Res v Underwood Villa.Division Two: Greyfriars v SandhurstRes, Kimberley Res v Newark Flowserve,Moorgreen v Underwood Villa Res.Midland Amateur AlliancePremier Division: Bassingfield vRadcliffe Olympic III, Old Elizabethans vFC Sutton Foresters, Trent Vineyard vMansfield Hosiery Mills.Division One: Ravenshead v Ashfield.Division Two: South Wingfield 93 vSouthwell St Marys, Alvaston Utd v OldBemrosians, Derbyshire Am v WatnallAth, Nottinghamshire III v Derby Deaf,Sunnydale v Old Elizabethans III.

Fixtures League Two – Focus on Mansfield Town Non-league footballEvo-Stik Northern League

that point, so I was obviouslykeen to see what happened.

“Everything was runningsmoothly, they had got me a flatand on Friday they said theywere signing me.

“I was also told I would be onthe bench for the match onSaturday as one of the keepersw a s n’t 100 per cent fit.

“However, it hit a glitch. Ihad my clearance from theEnglish FA and Carlton but theScottish FA blocked the move.

“Unlike in England whereyou have the emergency loansystem, in Scotland you can’thave played for two clubs in thesame season.”

His dream isn’t over there

Evo-Stik Northern League

though. With St Mirren’s in-terest still around, Viscosi isstill hopeful something can de-ve l o p.

“Most of the English andScottish goalkeeping coachesare connected and have said tome that I have the right attitudeand the technical ability to playin the leagues,” he added.

“Hopefully something willcome along in the summer butfor now it is back to concen-trating on Carlton.”

Travelling to a whole differ-ent country to ply your tradecan be daunting but Viscosihas been in one of the bestplaces to do it.

“Without Carlton and espe-

cially Maria Gawdiak, who haslet me stay with her whilst I amhere, I wouldn’t be able to dowhat I am doing,” he said.

“There are not many gamesleft in the season and my aim isto help the club win as many asp o s s i bl e.

“We have had a good seasonbut we could be higher if itw a s n’t for a number of draws.

“The Nottinghamshire Seni-or Cup is one of our main goalsand we are expecting to win thet ro p hy. ”

Good news is already rollingin for the player as it was con-firmed he has been offered atrial at Queens Park Rangersover the next couple of weeks.

Wilson hoping Robins can ease relegation fearsILKESTON FC manager Kevin Wilson ishoping his team can end the season on ahigh after a run of poor results.

Sitting 17th with five games to play, theclub are just five points above the re-legation zone and face a nervy final fewwe e k s.

However, Wilson is hoping his team canput to bed any relegation fears when theyface play-off chasing Ashton United to-mor row.

“The fate of the club is in our own handsand that is something you want going intoa game,” Wilson said.

“There are teams in and around us thathave to play each other whereas we areplaying a number of teams outside thebottom half of the table battle.

“Ashton are a perfect example as theyare a well organised team who are wherethey are because they deserve to be.

“However, we will be hoping to go thereand pick up a crucial three points byturning up there and playing how we didlast year in our 3-0 victory.”

It has been an up and down season forthe Robins who went on a three-matchwinning streak before there recent slide.

Boss Wilson believes there is plenty to bepositive about despite finding themselves

at the wrong end of the table.“Our policy has always been to develop

younger players by giving them plenty ofgame time,” he added.

“They have acquitted themselves verywell and three or four teenagers will endwith 20 appearances to their name comethe end of the season.”

Despite the consistent representation ofyouth, the squad have struggled to backthat up with positive results.

Wilson said the remainder of the seasonis about picking up points and putting theseason to bed as soon as possible.

“At times we haven’t taken our chancesand we have let in sloppy goals which havegot us into this situation,” he said.

“This is the first time we have beeninvolved at this end of the table and we willhave to battle along with the other teams toget through it.”

Whatever happens, continually playingfootball in the Evo-Stik League NorthernPremier is big boost for a club that re-formed less than three years ago.

Feeling positive: Boss Kevin Wilson.

Stags boss: Thejob is not overyet, now it’s upto us to finish itTHERE were some whodoubted Mansfield Townwould ever be in this position.

Given only a few weeks agothey were dangerously close tothe relegation zone, anotheryear in the fourth tier lookedfar from certain.

From the highs of aneight-match unbeaten streak atthe start of the campaign, tothat almost three-monthstretch without a league win, ithas been a long, unrelentingseason.

The Stags may have reachedthe magical 50-point mark, butwith survival still not math-ematically certain ahead of to-mor row’s trip to Morecambe,manager Paul Cox has stressedit is still not over yet.

Despite all the tough timesthough, not once did he doubt

either himself or his players.“No, never,” said Cox, who

will be without James Jen-nings and Anthony Howell atthe Globe Arena, due to sus-p e n s i o n s.

“I knew what I was cominginto when I first came here as amang er.

“I knew it would be tough, Iknew there was high expect-ation from the support, and Iknew some of the politics thatwere happening at the club.

“I’m not a stupid lad. I’mprobably not just your averagemanager that will go in justbecause it’s a job – I did myh o m ewo rk .

“But I always believed in myown ability. And I try to believein my players.

“I try to give my players allthe help I possibly can, to besuccessful.

“I’m still learning. I’m ayoung manager that’s mademassive mistakes since I’vebeen here.

“But as a group of people –myself, the players, the sup-porters, I include everyone inthat – we ’ve always comethrough at the end.

“What I want most is just tocome through the rest of thisseason, then sit down and re-flect a little bit as a club.”

Securing another term inLeague Two is just one part ofC ox ’s remit.

Building for the future is an-o t h e r.

“We haven’t just been suc-

cessful on the pitch, we’ve triedto build an infrastructureh e re, ” he said.

“It was a massive job when Ifirst came here, but the kids arecoming through, the infra-str ucture’s getting strongerand we’re all working hard totry to make this football club abig club.

“When I’ve been here in thepast, all I kept hearing waspotential. Potential is like a16-year-old player that couldcome through into thefirst-team or could be playingin non-league in two years’t i m e.

“My job is not just to getresults on the field, but to makesure this club grows year in,year out.

“It’s been tough but I thinkwe ’re getting there.”

His ambition should not bequestioned.

Cox has made it clear thatwhilst his team currently sit13th in the table, they must usethe last six games to climb ashigh up it as they can.

Nevertheless, he is keen tokeep check on expectations atthe One Call Stadium.

“What we’ve had in the lasttwo seasons is just ultimates u c c e s s, ” he added.

“The win ratio of the teamgoing into October wassomething like 70 per cent; itwas amazing.

“Then to come down andcrash as we did – I’m hoping it’sbrought the whole club backdown to Earth.

“Sometimes you can’t pro-gress unless you’ve had a peri-

od of standing still and accli-matising. I’m hoping that’swhat we’ve done now.”

So just how high can they gobefore the final game at BristolRovers on May 3?

“When you look at Octoberor November, you would prob-ably have said fourth from bot-tom would be a good finish,”said Cox.

“There have been amazinghighs and lows in the season –we were sat in the top three

after about 12 games andpeople were talking about pro-motion.

“Then we went through anincredible dip and people weresaying, we just need to sur-v ive.

“I would be happy to main-tain our status, but I wouldn’tbe me and the players wouldn’tbe them if we don’t want tofinish as high as we can.

“If we’ve got something tochase, like we did last year, and

nail one or two down, you’d liketo think a top half finish.

“But you never know. I don’twant to get too above our sta-tion with it all, because themain thing is winning the nextgame in front of us.

“The job’s not done yet,mathematically there is still achance we could get draggedback into it.

“We ’ve got to make surewe ’re mentally strong and fin-ish the job now.”

The table

By Sarah Clapsonsarah.clapson@nottinghampost.com

Learningcurve:StagsstrikerOlliePalmer.

Palmer is growing in confidence with every gameOLLIE Palmer admits it has taken him alittle time to find his feet at MansfieldTown and adjust to life in League Two.

But after a run in the starting XI, the22-year-old striker says his confidence isbeginning to return.

Having signed from Havant & Water-looville the day before the season’s open-ing game, Palmer then found himself inand out of the side.

His fifth goal of the campaign – atNorthampton Town last month – though,has proved to be something of a turningpoint and he retained his place up frontalongside Matt Rhead for the next threem at ch e s.

“It’s been a long season for me and I’velearnt an awful lot,” said the front man.

“My confidence has grown.“At previous clubs, I was just hitting

strikes from anywhere. I think it does takea bit of time to grow that confidence; it doesfor me anyway.

“If I keep getting shots away and keeptrying to hit the target, I’ll score moreg o a l s.

“I think I’ve grown up a lot this seasonand understand the game a little bit bet-t e r.

“I’ve still got a lot to learn. I know I’m notthe finished article, but it’s been a fant-astic learning curve this season.

“I didn’t have a pre-season with the cluband I got chucked straight in at the deepend.

“The gaffer’s had to kind of nurture me

through and play me at different times.“It’s been a fantastic season for me and

I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.“If I can get better and bring it into next

season, have a great season with the club,who knows what’s going to happen.”

At times this term the Stags have comein for criticism for deploying long-balltactics, but Palmer says it can be an ef-fective way of securing result.

“I watched Manchester United the othernight and they were playing long ballagainst Bayern Munich,” he said. “Some-times that’s the way you’ve got to play.

“We ’ve shown if we play a bit moredirect, then we’ll get better results – and Ithink that’s really important at this stageof the season.”

Go online atwww.nottinghampost.com

for Stags news

By Dan Robbinssports@nottinghampost.com

Suspended: Anthony Howellwill miss Saturday’s trip toMorecambe after picking up histenth yellow card of the seasonagainst AFC Wimbledon.

Aiming high: Carltonkeeper JonathonViscosi has beentraining with AFCWimbledon.

P W D L F A PtsRochdale .......... 40 22 8 10 64 39 74Scunthorpe Utd 40 18 18 4 61 37 72Chesterfield ...... 40 19 13 8 62 36 70Fleetwood Town 40 19 8 13 57 46 65Burton Albion ... 40 17 14 9 42 37 65Southend Utd... 40 15 14 11 48 36 59Oxford United... 40 15 14 11 49 41 59York City ........... 40 15 14 11 46 38 59Plymouth Argyle 39 15 10 14 44 44 55Dag & Red........ 40 13 15 12 48 47 54Cheltenham ...... 40 12 15 13 46 53 51Bury .................. 40 11 17 12 47 44 50Mansfield ......... 40 12 14 14 42 52 50Hartlepool ......... 40 13 10 17 46 46 49Accrington St ... 40 12 13 15 47 49 49Newport County 39 12 13 14 47 51 49AFC Wimbledon 40 12 12 16 42 48 48Morecambe ...... 40 12 12 16 45 58 48Exeter City........ 40 12 11 17 47 51 47Bristol Rovers... 39 11 13 15 36 43 46Portsmouth ....... 40 10 15 15 40 56 45Wycombe ......... 40 10 13 17 39 48 43Northampton Tn 40 9 13 18 33 54 40Torquay United . 40 9 9 22 35 58 36