WINNINGTON Park are not worried about previous defeats against Northwich ahead of this weekend’s derby, according to vice-captain Fraser Lindsay.

Nor do they care which team is tipped as a favourite to win.

“It’s easy to analyse things too much,” he said.

“We can definitely learn from previous meetings, and we know what we did wrong against Northwich last time.

“If Saturday’s game follows a similar pattern, then we’re prepared to prevent a repeat.

“They’ve been playing well recently, and have a string of wins to back that up.

“We were in a similar position last October, so I can see why people expected us to beat them.

“But lots of different things influence the outcome of a derby, and form is only one factor.

“It’s a game we want to win against our rivals, and an opportunity to put one over on them.

“That’s important if we want to stay as close as possible to the teams above us.”

The centre hopes this Saturday’s head-to-head can provide the same catalyst for Park as a 15-9 victory did for their neighbours back in October.

Winnington have lost two of three matches since the turn of the year, slipping below Blacks in the South Lancs/Cheshire Division One table for the first time this season.

Before last Autumn’s duel, Northwich had been beaten in four previous games.

Park have not played since a 22-7 defeat at Douglas 10 days ago, giving them extra time to prepare for Saturday’s showdown.

Lindsay said: “I think it can be a good thing to have an extra training session or two – we’re run through a few lines and patterns of play.

“But for me personally, if I’ve suffered a loss then I want the next match to arrive as quickly as possible to put it right.”