Back Come The Fans As The BT Cameras Return As Well!

It gives those lucky Weymouth supporters the chance to see their team kick a ball in Step 1 for the first time in a decade.

If the table doesn’t lie, even after a few months, then already this is a big game.

The Terras are 21st with FC Halifax Town just three points better off, so it’s safe to say there’s a lot riding on it as BT Sport get their first look at both teams.

Shaymen manager Pete Wild was quick to stress there is so much more to come from his squad despite them knocking five past Barnet on Wednesday night.

His counterpart Brain Stock believes we have not seen all Weymouth have to offer, either.

But he can’t wait for his first game as a manager with supporters cheering on his side.

“I truly believe the fans make a real difference for us, and we could have had one or two extra points on the board if they were here,” he told the club’s audio service.

“When I was a player I really connected with the supporters.

“But then again, if you get a few bad results as a manager the fans are there to tell you about it!

“They know what a tough task it will be to stay in this league but if we can stay up it gives us the platform to try and progress the club on a longer-term basis.”

Weymouth didn’t score in their first four games and it left everyone fearful of a long season ahead.

But since then things have picked up and Stock has been listening to some of his old managers with the Dorset club’s goal purely survival.

Stock has seen his side even win at Stockport - so what can we expect this weekend?

“When you don’t score goals it’s always a huge concern,” he added after three months at the helm.

“But the players have since made a big impact - we’ve got more bodies in the box, the lads have take what we said on board.

“We’re now getting goals from midfield. It’s not about bravery. We were losing by the odd goal - teams are hard and organised in this league. They are mainly full time.

“When teams get that first goal against us it’s very difficult. Teams’ game management is excellent.”

He added: “I’ve taken a piece of every manager I have ever played under into this job.

“I have played under a few, and there’s actually only been one of them I haven’t spoken to since taking on this role with Weymouth.

“They have been really forthcoming. One of the biggest lessons I learnt was from Eddie Howe, who I was with in Bournemouth. He made the transition from player to manager very quickly.

“It didn’t take long for it to go to total respect from having that dressing room banter.

“I know a few of these players from playing with them. It’s little things like calling me gaffer instead of Stocky. I’ve been really pleased with the players I have known personally.

“Now we want to keep pushing forward and giving this everything we have got.”

FC Halifax manager Wild has warned the rest his team can do “five or six things” better than they did when they put five past Barnet in midweek.

Wednesday night’s 5-2 success was arguably the team’s best display of the season so far.

He wants his attacking players to be ruthless again - but says it’s not always as simple as people would like to think!

He told the Halifax Courier: “It’s easier said than done, it’s not Football Manager.

“They’ve got to turn up again. When they walk over that white line, it’s up to them.

“We can prepare them, we prepare them as well as possible, we give them as much information as we can, and when they walk over that white line it’s up to them, and they’ve got to go and deliver.

“They delivered on Wednesday and they’ve got to deliver again on Saturday.”

Ahead of a challenging schedule which also sees his team go to Aldershot on Tuesday night, Wild says his team can improve a lot on what they did against Barnet.

“I think we can get better,” he stressed after the convincing win. “I’m always pushing for the perfect game.

“There’s certainly four, fix, six things that could be better than Wednesday and that’s what, slowly but surely over the next few weeks, we’ve got to keep working on and keep getting better at.

“But we’ve got a group of men that want to learn and want to implement a style of football.”