Wimborne Town to travel 450 miles in four days

Wimborne Town are set to travel approximately 450 miles in the space of only four days when they visit Hanwell Town and Plymouth Parkway.

The fixtures take place on 22^nd and 25^th November, with Hanwell first, before the long journey across the south coast to Plymouth.

Whilst the match against Hanwell is a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, Plymouth away presents a different challenge, kicking off at 7:45pm the following Tuesday evening.

Most players in the lower leagues are part-time footballers, which means these types of fixtures can affect their work off the pitch.

Magpies’ captain and defender, Sam Jackson, said: “I know for a lot of the lads it’s hard to get the time off to actually leave work early.

“Then if you’re getting home late, say it’s on a Tuesday night, then it’s harder to be at your best [with] whatever you’re doing the next day.

“I think when you do look at a lot of the time if there are Tuesday night games, more often than not the home teams win those games.”

Wimborne currently sit sixth in the Southern League Premier South, having won seven of their 14 games, though they have only picked up two wins from seven away matches in the league this season.

Away trips can have a particular effect on football clubs at non-league level due to the costs and performance disadvantages that come with the travelling.

Wimborne Town Manager, Tim Sills, said: “It’s always tricky.

“Often the message when you’ve got a team that’s come to you quite a long way is ‘start brightly because they’ll probably still be on the coach’.”

He added: “We always make sure we have a stop off so the boys can stretch their legs, so you’ve just got to make sure you can help them prepare as much as possible.”

Wimborne have already visited the likes of Walton and Hersham and Hungerford Town, both of which required a coach.

Club finance director, Lee Merrifield, said: “We pay about £750 each time we hire a coach.

“There’s not a great deal we can do about it.”

With Hanwell and Plymouth fast approaching, Wimborne Town will have their work cut out for them financially and physically as they continue their push for promotion.