HARLOW Town manager Ian Allinson is hoping that his Manager Of The Month award for November does not turn into an unlucky omen that destroys the Hawks' promotion chances.

The former Arsenal midfielder said: "Obviously I am pleased, but it is like everything else with these Manager Of The Month awards. I just hope it doesn't go against us, as usually they turn a good run into a bad one."

The Hawks not only secured a couple of impressive cup wins during November but also took ten points from a possible 12 in the league, and Allinson heaped praise on his team.

He continued: "While I pick the side, the players have been absolutely fantastic for the club in November, so they should get a lot of credit as well.

"I think the judges may have been swayed by our league form, but we did secure some good wins in four cup games. If they are taken into consideration it has been a fantastic month for us."

Allinson now hopes that with the Hawks sitting in seventh spot and having games in hand on all but one of the teams above them, they can continue their good run of form and make a real push towards promotion.

He added: "I think if we carry this run forward we have a chance of moving up the table but we have got a hard December coming up with some tough games against Ford United and Bognor, both of whom are above us.

"Although if we win our games in hand we would go third on merit and the way we are playing at the moment we aren't fearful of anyone.

"We have also held our own recently against Premier Division sides in the cups this season and I think we will truly know our own destiny once we come out of the busy Christmas schedule.

"There is a lot of character in the side, because in a lot of the games in November we came from behind to turn it round.

"The fitness is also good and the only problem we face is that we have got so many games left to play.

"If we end up with a fixture back-log because of the weather and various runs in the cups it could determine if we go up or not."

December 6, 2001 17:39