Wedding bells ringing louder than three points (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Wedding bells ringing louder than three points

THE bells could be tolling for Devizes this weekend as a wedding has severely depleted their squad for the daunting trip to title contenders Bideford.

Manager Nathan Sheridan, who has not been afforded much of a honeymoon period, striker Simon Drewitt, midfielder Mark Roberts and defender Rob Hannah are all missing as they attend the wedding of the best friend of Sheridan's wife.

Devizes will also be without Steve Sartin, who misses out through suspension, while Elliott Williams is injured.

Assistant boss Jamie Gale will take charge of the team in Sheridan's absence.

In stark contrast to Bideford, Devizes have struggled in the early stages of this season's campaign, picking up just one point from four games.

Bideford, who beat table-toppers Frome Town 4-2 on Saturday, currently sit in second place, with 15 points from six games.

Despite the prospect of facing a rampant Bideford side with a number of key players missing, Sheridan believes it is the perfect game for Devizes to be playing this weekend.

He said: "I'd rather have a game like Bideford away than somewhere like Torrington, where we would be looking to pick up points.

"If there's one game where we're looking at not picking up points then it would be Bideford away.

"Yes, it's a nightmare for us, but in another sense, looking at it positively, we're missing players for one game that we're maybe not concerned that much about, because no one's expecting us to do anything.

"As it's panned out, it's probably the best game possible for us. That's how we are seeing it. We all know they're a formidable side at home."

Despite expecting little from the game, Sheridan added that he wants to see the side that does travel to Bideford play with the correct attitude.

"We're down to the bare bones, but whoever goes down there will go in the right frame of mind and will do the best they can," said the boss.

"I'll have the phone glued to my ear to find out how they get on."

It's not all bad news for the Premier Division strugglers, however, as new signing Nick Mooney could make his return. Trialists Colin Yates and Gareth Morgan could also come into the squad.