AS a self-confessed fan Huw Griffiths wants Cefn Druids to start picking up points - just not at Caernarfon Town’s expense.
Griffiths has managed Druids on two separate occasions - the latest of which ended in January - twice leading the Ancients into the Europa League in the process.
While Caernarfon have picked up three wins and a draw from their opening seven games, Druids, under new head coach Bruno Lopes, have pocketed just one point from six outings.
The two teams will go head-to-head with vital points at stake at The Oval this evening (Friday).
And Griffiths takes no pleasure from seeing Druids propping up the division and four points from safety, saying: “I’m still a fan of Cefn Druids. You can’t just turn off your support for a team and they are still the result I look out for.
“A lot of the lads still at Druids are ones that I brought to the club and it’s a club that I led into European action twice and helped turn them into an established Cymru Premier side after getting out of the Cymru North.
“The club has so much history and it’s disappointing to see them where they are in the league at the moment.
“I will take no real pleasure from turning them over, other than it’s another important three points for Caernarfon.
“If I take the emotion out of it, it’s just another game against a team that haven’t started the season so well.”
Griffiths returned to The Rock last month to cast his eye over Druids as they played out a 1-1 draw with Cardiff Met, who Caernarfon went on to defeat 3-0 last weekend.
“They are now a possession-based team with good movement,” said Griffiths of Druids. “They’ve also got pace and when they’ve got their best XI out they are a decent side.”
Jayson Starkey, who was Griffiths’ assistant during his time at The Rock, knows Druids must be up for the fight as they head to Caernarfon tonight.
“It’s about hunger and desire,” said Druids’ assistant head coach. “We know exactly what to expect from a Huw Griffiths team. Huw has been a mentor to me for 10 years and we know we will have to be ready to fight for every first and second ball.
“With the weather that has been about it might not be the prettiest, but there will be 22 players out on the pitch giving 100 per cent.”
Phil Mooney, Cody Ruberto, Harry Brazel and Joe Faux are set to miss the trip for Druids, who are remaining calm despite their league position.
“Every match is a big match,” said Starkey. “This one won’t make or break our season because there’s still not an excessive gap between us and the teams just above us.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here