Dec Walker previews Warrington derby

Right-back Dec Walker says Saturday’s clash with local rivals Rylands will be a big moment for the town, but he insists the squad cannot let the magnitude of the occasion get to them. 

The pair will lock horns for the second and final time this season, with the reverse fixture resulting in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Cantilever Park back in October. 

They will meet again at Gorsey Lane this weekend, and both sides could finish the day in the play-off places, depending on the outcome of other matches.

“It’s massive for the town. Growing up here, all we had was rugby,” Walker said.

“It’s good to have two teams that play a good standard of football and have their eyes on getting promoted.

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“I’m looking forward to a good crowd, but ultimately once we get onto the pitch we just need to focus on getting the three points.

“There’s a lot of talk about it this week, but we’ve got to forget that.”

Walker swapped blue for yellow back in September and has made 16 appearances for Town to date. 

The 30-year-old has started both of the last two matches following the departure of young defender Josh Seary, and he bagged his first goal for the club in last weekend’s 3-1 victory at home to Belper Town. 

“I’ve had to be patient waiting for my chance. Hopefully I can carry on and cement my place in the team now,” Walker added. 

“It’s always nice to get a goal, my first for the club, to top it all off too.”

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While Rylands enjoyed a midweek rest, the Yellows were in action away at Hyde United, where they came from behind twice to rescue a 2-2 draw. 

That result extended the club’s unbeaten run to six matches, and Walker says it stands them in good stead ahead of Saturday’s derby. 

“I think a draw was a fair result. It’s a tough place to come, especially after playing on a Saturday,” he reflected.

“The weather was awful, so the main thing was to make sure that we didn’t get beat after a good result at the weekend.

“For us to go behind twice and get something out of the game shows the character of the lads.

“We’ve been trying to make sure that when we can’t win games, we don’t lose them. Those points all add up, and hopefully we can continue our unbeaten run and start turning some of those draws into wins.”