Weymouth manager Mark Molesley has said that he’s grateful that his side are getting the chance to complete the National League South playoffs.
The Terras will host either Bath City or Dorking Wanderers in the National League South playoff semi-final on 25th July (17:30 kick-off) at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
Due to current restrictions, the game will be played behind closed doors, but the National League announced earlier that all playoffs games will be available via an online stream produced by BT Sport and Sportradar.
Speaking to uptheterras.co.uk Mark Molesley said he was pleased with how the return to training was going so far, “I think the preparations are going as well as they can do at the moment. The boys have worked hard and they’ve kept themselves pretty trim during the lockdown period.
“It’s a difficult situation, it’s unprecedented, we don’t have pre-season friendlies or games to play before, so it’s a race to see who can prepare the best they can in a difficult situation. Our boys are embracing it and I think we’re really enjoying being back training, we’re grateful that we’re getting this chance to play it and it gives me a chance again to thank everyone.”
Weymouth needed to raise £35,000 to help fund the testing and stadium cleaning necessary to compete in the playoffs. Mark Molesley praised the Terras fans who have so far raised an impressive £31,000.
“We’ve worked so hard for this chance,” Mark Molesley continued. “But we wouldn’t be able to play this game if it wasn’t for all the hard work from the people who have donated. Some wonderful people are doing some great things to fundraise for this football club so we can play in this game. We’ve worked so hard to get ourselves into this position and we’re delighted and grateful with everyone who has helped give us this opportunity.
“We know we represent the fans and we’re trying to do that the best we can, we wish they were there, but they’re not; we look forward to hopefully celebrating with them after one of the games. We’ve got a lot of hard work to do, we want to do everyone proud and we’ll give it our best shot.”
Havant & Waterlooville are currently waiting to see who they will face between Dartford and Slough Town in the other National League South playoff. The Weymouth boss believes that the league is as competitive as it has ever been.
“I think you could toss a coin for any of the teams to play in the playoffs,” added Mark Molesley. “I think it’s a true testament to our boys that we’re up there competing with those sorts of teams.
“More experienced managers than myself have said that this is the toughest that this league has ever been, the fact that we’re up there and competing shows that we’ve done well, but we want to go one better.
“I don’t think you could choose that we’d rather these or them, I think they all possess great quality and the playoffs represent the league very well this year. We believe in ourselves and feel that we’ve got a great opportunity in front of us and that we need to grasp it with both hands..”
