DANNY Laws has won one winner's medal of a national competition - and the Needham Market manager wants another one.Laws leads his Needham side in tomorrow's FA Vase semi-final first leg against Kirkham & Wesham only too aware of the importance of what is at stake.

Nick Garnham

DANNY Laws has won one winner's medal of a national competition - and the Needham Market manager wants another one.

Laws leads his Needham side in tomorrow's FA Vase semi-final first leg against Kirkham & Wesham only too aware of the importance of what is at stake.

“It is a massive game for me personally. I won the FA County Youth Cup with Suffolk in 2005 and have the medal at home. I want another one to go with it, but we have to get there first of all.”

Laws was disappointed by successive home defeats to Swaffham and Woodbridge in the space of four days which have put a spanner in the works so far as Needham's Ridgeons League Premier Division title bid is concerned.

He questioned the desire of his players to want to win the league and is looking for a reaction from his squad who have already reached the S1 Sport Suffolk Premier Cup and Ridgeons League Cup finals this season.

Five of the squad - Richard Butler, Rhys Barber, Craig Parker, James Evans and Danny Thrower - were in the Bury Town side that lost at the semi-final stage against Hillingdon Borough two years ago and Laws is hoping that experience will stand them in good stead.

After the shock 2-1 defeat by Woodbridge he said: “I would like to think so, but on tonight's show they did not want it enough because we had enough opportunities to win the game.

“I am not being disrespectful to Woodbridge, who defended well, but the ball kept flashing across their box and no one was getting on the end of it and that is not good enough.

“Some of my players have semi-final experience in the Vase, but you would have thought they would want to win the Ridgeons League after finishing second with Bury Town.

“They have to show more desire - possession doesn't count for anything.”

Turning his thoughts specifically to tomorrow's tie, Laws said: “We will be going there to keep it tight without a doubt - it would be foolish not to.

“We are away from home and it will not be an easy pitch to play on and we are going to have to contend with the home crowd. We will need to have our wits about us and keep it tight.”

Needham have had fitness doubts concerning defender Scott Wark and midfielder Craig Parker, who both suffered injures in the Ridgeons League Premier Division 1-1 draw at home to Kirkley & Pakefield a fortnight ago.

Scott Wark tested his ankle ligaments out in Wednesday's Harwich Charity Cup second round match away to Ipswich Wanderers and will be hoping not to suffer any reaction.

Craig Parker has been receiving intensive treatment from both club physio Pat Alexander and David Williams, the former Ipswich Town physio.

Laws said: “Craig will train with the rest of the squad on Friday morning and he will travel with the party afterwards to our hotel in Leyland. We will assess his situation after training.”

Needham squad: Jones, Pemberton, Wake, Bailey, Butler, Barber, Wark, Evans, Parker, Denniss, Smith, Heath-Preston, Buckle, Szyszlyk, Thrower, Snell, Thorogood.