TELFORD is a strange place.

The Bucks Head ground is a complicated dual dose of a modern day footballing megadome and a North-West Counties field, the players are as consistent as Clare Short's war statements and the manager is the only Glaswegian ever to be described as constantly jovial.

On such a stage, the immediate future of Leigh RMI's Conference destiny lies - it could decide whether the final run-in is fraught or extremely fraught!

But the Railwaymen and Shropshire just don't go together well.

Two years ago, they didn't even get to Telford as redevelopment to the Bucks' stadium meant they were forced to play their matches at Worcester City. Last term, RMI supporters almost didn't make it with their coach marooned on the hard shoulder for the majority of a three hour journey.

That Telford are as close to a bogey team as Leigh have ever had on the pitch should count for nothing though after a season including 10 home defeats for Jake King's men.

Conversely, Leigh's 13 from 17 defeats on the travels ensures that the match is not the most sparkling that the Conference fixtures panel could have thrown up.

It seems bizarre then that RMI should come into the game on something of a high after long periods of containment last time out against a Yeovil side who threatened to go bananas after seizing an early three-goal lead.

In the RMI that Patterson built, tall strikers such as Neil Campbell and Keith Scott have enough physical presence to ruffle Telford feathers; a job left criminally undone when David Brown stole the show in United's 3-0 win at Hilton Park in November.