MATT Clarke insists his players know the importance of this weekend’s derby clash with local rivals Bromsgrove Sporting as the Reds go in search of a second successive league double over the Rouslers.
The Reds staged a late comeback to beat Sporting 2-1 at the Victoria Ground on the opening day of the season and have won each of the last three derby matches dating back to September 2022.
And despite Redditch flying high in third place in the Southern League Premier Central table, just two points off the top, Clarke is wary of the threats Bromsgrove pose with the Rouslers six points above the drop.
Clarke said: “Form goes out of the window, there’ll be another big crowd, it’ll be a tough game and on their day they can cause any team problems.
“We’ll be ramming it in to the players about how important the game is locally and about the local bragging rights.
“We’re really confident at the moment, we just want to keep pushing and putting more points on the board.
“It was unbelievable from the supporters [against Hitchin], they were magnificent, to come out in freezing conditions, to have 1,200 people here was brilliant.
“Hopefully, we can get a lot more people in for the derby against Bromsgrove and keep the place buzzing and bouncing.”
In their last outing, Redditch returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory against Hitchin Town.
The Reds took an early lead through Musa Ceesay’s header before Alex Cameron and substitute Johnny Johnston sealed the points in the second half.
And a bumper 1,223-strong crowd watched on at Valley Stadium after Redditch made the game free entry to all.
Redditch host Bromsgrove on Saturday, January 20 with kick-off at 3pm at Valley Stadium.
