‘I know they’ve got gears to go’ - Bamber Bridge issues exciting run-in claim

Paul Carden’s Yellows were seven games unbeaten in the NPL Premier Division before Bamber Bridge came to the Cal.Delivery Stadium on Saturday, with a brace from Olly Molloy ensuring the points went back up the M6.

It was a third straight win for the Brig, but more importantly for Milligan, a third straight clean sheet too.

“I thought our lads were brilliant today,” he said post-match.

“First half, we passed it around well, and were quite comfortable. We knew in the second half that we needed to try to play a little differently and make sure we defended right.

“I’ve changed the way I’ve coached a little this season, and defensively, the lads have been exceptional to a man. The good thing is that I know they’ve got more gears in them.”

Indeed, Milligan feels that even on the back of a run of seven wins in nine, he is confident that there will be more to come from his players as they look to strengthen their promotion hopes.

The Brig are now three points behind Warrington Rylands in fifth, with a vastly superior goal difference and two games in hand. 

After a couple of years finishing in lower mid-table, there appears a real opportunity for the club to return to the play-offs this season, having been beaten play-off finalists in 2022/23.

“They’re all going to be massive games,” Milligan said of their remaining 15 matches of the season. 

“We just need to stay in that pack, and we deserve to be there. We went through a bad stage, but we kept knuckling down and working hard. I knew we would get out of it, because there’s enough ability in that changing room.

“We just changed the mentality slightly and became a little harder to beat, and in the last three games we’ve scored eight and conceded none. 

“Fair play to the boys, they deserve all the credit.”