Football: Cousins targets the play-offs (From Gazette Series)

Zamaretto Division One South & West preview: Bishop's Cleeve v Yate Town

8:30am Thursday 9th February 2012 in Sport By Rob Iles

YATE TOWN boss Rob Cousins hasn’t given up hope of his side making a late charge to the Zamaretto Southern League Division One South & West play-offs.

The Bluebells have lost just twice in their last 13 games to give themselves an outside chance following a poor start to the season, but they are still 12 points adrift of fifth-placed Gosport Borough .

Cousins said: “As long as there is a possibility, we’ve got to aim for it.

“We’re playing catch up but we’ve still got to believe it.

“You’ve got to have targets. You might not achieve them, but you’ve got to have something to try and achieve.”

Yate’s rapid rise up the table has led to Blue Square Premier clubs showing an interest in some of their players, but Cousins is confident he will be able to keep hold of them for the rest of this season and beyond.

“The players we’ve got are happy to play for me and Michael Meaker,” he said.

“We’ve got ambition and we want to push on and that is why we are attracting other players.”

Yate head to Bishop’s Cleeve on Saturday with several players missing. After the freezing weather put paid to their game against bottom club Stourport Swifts last weekend, midfielder Mark Badman still has one more game of his suspension to serve, while full backs Tyrone Mings and Tom Warren start two-game and three-game bans respectively.

Winger Matt Groves is also unavailable, while Adie Adams (neck) and Jake Cox (knee) are on the long-term injury list, but Cousins is hoping to sign an “experienced” Southern League centre-back in time for the game.

“It’s a case of getting on with it,” he said.

“It is going to be tough against a side doing well above us.”

Cousins played with Bishop’s Cleeve boss Alex Sykes at Forest Green, and their careers have followed similar paths with both of them in their first full season in management.

And he is looking to avenge the 2-1 defeat at home to Cleeve in Septermber.

“We are good friends, we played together at Forest Green and we came up against each other a number of times,” said Cousins.

“I’ve spoke to him a couple of times this season to bounce ideas off each other about different teams, but when the whistle blows I’ve got no friends.

“It would be nice to take three points after they stole three points at our place earlier in the season.”