West Wratting manager Lee Miller confident tide will turn for his side after run of five straight defeats

After a ‘demoralising’ run of results and luck, manager Lee Miller is confident that there is light at the end of the tunnel for his West Wratting side.

Miller’s men made a bright start to the 2024/25 Cambridgeshire County League Premier Division campaign with five victories from their first six outings.

However, the squad has since been decimated by injuries and suspensions, leading to a run of five straight defeats in all competitions – the most recent being a 4-2 home reverse at the hands of Great Shelford on Saturday.

And Miller has never known such high levels of unavailability in all his years of management.

He said: “It’s been tough. I’ve never been in this situation before as a manager and it’s something the club has experienced for probably 20 years.

“It’s been difficult for everyone – for us as management, but also the players and the club as a whole.

“Unfortunately these things happen in football. When everyone is available we’ve got a very strong side, but we’ve had so many missing in recent weeks.

“It’s been a bit demoralising to go through it, but it’s my job to remain positive. If I don’t stay positive then I can’t expect anyone else to be positive either.

“There’s been some fine margins in some of the defeats but ultimately we haven’t been good enough. We’ve not been taking our chances and we’ve conceded some poor goals as well.

“But I’m 100 per cent confident we’ll turn this around. It’s not a matter of if but when – and I think it will happen very soon.”

Much of Miller’s certainty is based upon the fact that the availability crisis is beginning to ease.

The experienced Nick Wilderspin and Callum Harrison are both set to return this weekend, while Miller has also made three additions in recent weeks. Former Foxton player Josh Segrave and ex-Wroxham and Dereham Town frontman Kenny Reeves have enhanced the attacking options, while Milo Holmes is also back at the club after a stint with Haverhill Rovers.

On the return of the midfielder, Miller said: “Milo coming back gives us a real lift. He’s a local lad with a lot of good friends in the group.

“As mates we’re disappointed for him that it didn’t work out at Rovers but from a football point of view we’re delighted to have him back.”

Wratting’s focus now switches to back-to-back cup fixtures – starting with tomorrow’s trip to fellow Premier Division side Cambridge University Press in the Cambridgeshire Cliff Bullen Challenge Cup (3pm).

“At Wratting the target is always to be challenging towards the top end of the table and to try to win a cup or two,” added Miller.

“Some big teams have already gone out of this cup so we see it as something we can really challenge for.

“Press lost some players in the summer but they have recruited well so credit to them for that.

“We lost narrowly 2-1 against them earlier in the season and we’re desperate to put that right.

“We see it as a real priority game for us and a win could really turn things around.”

The pressure will then be off on Tuesday when Wratting head to higher-league Soham Town Rangers in the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup (7.45pm).

The Greens, who ply their trade two levels up in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division, recently appointed former Histon boss Lance Key as their new manager.

“I’m delighted for Keysy because I know he was keen to get back into a job,” said Miller.

“They’ve got a good side over there so it’s one we can look forward to with no real pressure.

“We’ll be the underdogs but we’ll be going over there looking to give it our best shot.

“Playing against higher-league opponents under the lights in the cup – it’s a great opportunity for our group.”