Rick Andrews says revenge is not the motive for Stowmarket Town when they visit Kirkley & Pakefield tomorrow afternoon (3pm), writes Alex Moss.

The Royals were one of only two sides, the other being champions Coggeshall Town, to do the double over Andrews’ squad in their first season back in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division last term.

But the Stow boss insists he will not be thinking about last season’s meetings when the Old Gold and Blacks visit Walmer Road.

“We expect nothing but a tough game,” Andrews said. “They doubled us last year and were one of only a few teams that did it.

“I don’t look at it and say we need to beat them this year, last year has been and gone.

“Without a doubt it’s going to be a difficult game, but as we’ve seen from last weekend’s results, Whitton beating Norwich United and Walsham having a good result against Brantham, it’s a wide open league this year.

“We just need to concentrate on ourselves. We can only look after ourselves and personally, from my point of view, I’m glad we’ve got back to playing the football I like to watch.”

Stow fired in nine goals across two games last week, as they followed up a 4-1 win at Mildenhall Town with a 5-0 thrashing of Harpenden Town, results which ensured progress for Andrews’ men in both the Suffolk Premier Cup and Buildbase FA Vase.

Off the pitch, crowds at Greens Meadow continue to rise too, with an average attendance of 270 from Stow’s first eight home games of the season.

Following tomorrow’s trip to Walmer Road, the Old Gold and Blacks are scheduled to play their next four games at home, starting against Haverhill Rovers in the League Challenge Cup on Tuesday (7.45pm).

“The support was fantastic on Saturday,” Andrews said. “I bumped into John Wark and he pulled me to one side and said he was impressed with what we’re trying to do and how we played.

“At the end of the day, all we’re trying to do is give the town of Stowmarket a club to be proud of. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there.”