FA Trophy: Redbridge boss relishing Hereford challenge

Motormen make the trip to National League North side Hereford a second-round tie, looking to cause an upset against the 2021 runners-up.

And Christou knows the odds are against his players, who have lost five of their last six matches in all competitions, but says he is not just looking for a day out.

“Hereford were in the final two years ago so we know how big a deal it is,” he said.

“It’s probably our cup final in a sense. We’re the last Isthmian North team left and a newly promoted club. It’s our first time in the second round for 25-30 years.

“We’ve got to go and enjoy the moment and the day. We’ve got to be very good to be in the game, we’re under no illusions.

“We beat a step three team [Haringey Borough] in the last round, so this is an added bonus and we’ve got to enjoy it.

“But it’s not just a day out. We want to cause them problems. With our never-say-die attitude, if it’s tight with 10 minutes to go, anything can happen.

“With a draw, you’ve then got a chance with it going straight to penalties.

“I’m excited for some of the boys who have been with me from Sunday League and reserves.

“To play in front of a big crowd, it’s excellent for us to be involved.”

Redbridge fell to a 3-2 home defeat against Walthamstow last weekend, after Warren Kayembe headed against the crossbar in a bright start.

George Ironton opened the scoring against the run of play and Adalberto Pinto fired home a second before the break.

Ollie Sotoyinbo made it 3-0, but Redbridge kept battling and late goals from Oscar Shelvey-Negus and Lewis Clark set up a frantic finale, with goalkeeper Connor Wheatley heading wide from a corner.

“We’ve been really unlucky the last month with injuries,” added Christou.

“Our goalie was out four games, we’ve had two strikers out and certain midfielders out.

“Last Tuesday we went to Lowestoft and then had a sickness bug, so four didn’t play on Saturday. Too many changes has an effect.

“We started brightly and caused them problems, but everything that could’ve gone wrong recently has gone wrong.

“It’s one of those things. The boys don’t give up, credit to them in that sense, but there was a bit of naivety in the group and we’ve been unlucky with injuries.

“We’re still batting way above where we should be. It’s no time to panic, we’ve got to work hard on the pitch.

“It’s the league we wanted to be in and these are the challenges to relish and enjoy.”

We trained on Monday and will train on Thursday, then it’s an early 730 meet for the coach on Saturday!”