JOHN DANBY will be determined to keep a clean sheet at Kidderminster Harriers on Boxing Day.
The Chester City goalkeeper is set to play a key role in helping his struggling club kick-start their bitterly disappointing campaign with a victory at Aggborough (3pm kick-off).
Blues bos, Jim Harvey was critical of Danby who spilled a cross that led to Fleetwood clinching a 1-0 victory against Chester in their last match - an FA Trophy first round tie earlier this month.
Harvey said: “John Danby dropped another catch which led to Fleetwood’s winning goal, and he’s dropped a couple of catches recently, but I couldn’t remember Fleetwood creating any real clear-cut chances.
“John probably struggled because it was a bit of an awkward cross he had to deal with which bounced in front of him. He went to pick it up but spilled it out and they were able to score from it.
“I know John was disappointed with the effort because it was one you would expect him to save or collect, but unfortunately he didn’t.”
Danby, who started his career at Kidderminster in 2001, went on to play 76 matches for the club, but his time at Harriers came to an end when the club were relegated in 2005.
The 26-year-old made a record-breaking 128 consecutive appearances for the Blues earlier this year, and is now determined to pull City out of their perilous position at the foot of the Blue Square Premier league table.
Danby is the longest-serving player in Chester’s squad and has seen a number of ups and downs during his turbulent time at the club.
But he is looking forward to the opportunity to wipe out Chester’s 25 points deduction at the start of the season with a victory at his former club.
Chester are searching for their first win in seven league games and after their 1-0 home defeat against Fleetwood Town in the first round of the FA Trophy.
Blues boss Harvey, who saw City’s scheduled match at Rushden and Diamonds on Saturday postponed due to a frozen pitch, will be without leading goalscorer Nick Chadwick, who serves a one match suspension after accumulating five bookings.
Harvey is being given no option other than to field a young and inexperienced side for the Boxing Day clash, with Lloyd Ellams expected to start as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.
Ellams has stepped up as a regular in the first team squad this term and will be looking to feed off the service hopefully being provided by the central midfield partnership of Anthony Barry and James Owen.
Midfield player Michael Lea has recovered from a groin injury and is expected to return to the squad, but injury still rules out Neil Ashton (groin), Rhys Meynell (ankle), and Adam Kay (knee).
Chester will face a managerless Kidderminster Harriers side after the departure of Mark Yates who was yesterday appointed the new boss of Cheltenham Town.
Yates, 39, spent five years as a player with the Robins, and replaces Martin Allen at the Whaddon Road club.
Kidderminster assistant manager, Neil Howarth, also joins League Two Cheltenham as first-team coach.
Kidderminster may install ex-Chester City midfielder, Dean Bennett, or John Finnigan, in charge of the side for the Boxing Day match against the Blues.
But Kidderminster chairman, Barry Norgrove, insists that his club will avoid any ‘rash decisions’ in appointing a successor to Yates.
Norgrove is expected to meet with the playing staff at Aggborough today and is currently exploring options with a view to having some sort of helping hand in place for the Chester match.
“We aren’t going to rush - we want to make sure we get the right man in,” he said.
“My phone has been ringing constantly over the past few days and there are a lot of people, a lot of good managers who would be interested in coming here.
“But we have to be careful because it can be easy to just jump right into something.
“I’m trying to sort things out so we can move along over a busy Christmas period and we’ll look at getting a new manager over the next few weeks.
“It would be very nice to have someone in quickly but we know we have to take our time and avoid any kind of rash decision.”