ADAM HINSHELWOOD took the time to praise his counterpart in the dugout for Saturday’s match between York City and Eastleigh.

Kelvin Davies took the reigns at Eastleigh in February and, like Hinshelwood, helped ensure that his side avoided relegation from the Vanarama National League.

Since then, both Davies and Hinshelwood have seen their sides soar in the National League this season, with both teams once being the outright leaders in the fifth tier.

Hinshelwood praised Davies and admitted his respect for the former Premier League goalkeeper, and spoke on the firepower available to the Spitfires, with Chris Maguire and Paul McCallum leading the line.

“I think Kelvin has got to take a lot of plaudits for how they have started, he’s got them playing his sort of style now,” Hinshelwood commended

“I’m not surprised, they’ve got good people there at the heart and at the day-to-day running of the club and a good management structure.

“They’ve got a lot of firepower and a lot of good players at the top end of the pitch, they’re relatively sound defensively as well, which a good combination to have.

“We have to be at our best, that’s our challenge, not all games are going to be comfortable and we have to be prepared and ready.

“The players have got to be prepared to step up to the plate when the games are difficult, when they are under pressure, and I think that this Saturday is going to be one of them.

“We’re hoping for consistent performance, and if we perform like we did on Tuesday, then it will be a good game. That’s all we’re trying to focus on.

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“Rochdale went to their place and it was a really good game recently.

“They are a real threat from set-pieces and have players that will attack the ball, long throw-ins will come into our box.

“They’re not just that type of side, but they do that really well as well.

“It’s an area of the game where we know we’ll have to be 100 per cent ready for and on our game.

“We’ve got to be prepared for this challenge, it will be a tough challenge as they have some really good firepower.”

Hinshelwood also recalled his last meeting with Davies, that took place in April at the LNER Community Stadium, with the visitors heading home three points richer.

The match was marred by City being reduced to nine men, after red cards to Zanda Siziba and Ryan Fallowfield, with Hinshelwood expecting a different sort of performance from his side on Saturday.

“They came in and did a bit of a job, they got a lot of the players behind the ball and we got two sending’s off. Zanda and Ryan, on the day.

“It was probably a bit of a mistake from a set-piece on our behalf as well, they got their 1-0 win and travelled away very happy with three points.

“I’m hoping for a different test, it’s a different side that they are coming up against this year and we’re hoping that the support will be there behind us.

“We can really try and hit our same performance levels, that’s the key thing, we perform well and set a very high standard in the game on Tuesday.

“We have set the bar and now we want to keep that level.”

As part of the Minstermen’s return to home soil after back-to-back away matches, Hinshelwood hopes that another victory and large crowd will contribute to his primary goal in North Yorkshire - to turn the LNER Community Stadium into a fortress.

“It’s been a couple of weeks since we were last here and I’m really looking forward to it, performing in front of our home fans.

“There’s a bit of a buzz being generated at the moment, we want to try and maintain that for as long as we can.

“It’s exactly what we want to try and create, any manager would say that they want that from their home ground.

“With the support we get here, we definitely feel that we can do that, but it is ultimately down to us to perform and deliver.

“It’s alright talking about it, but we have got to perform when it matters.”