Leamington boss Paul Holleran has backed Chris Kiely to make the most of Tony Breeden's unlucky break when he returns between the sticks for tomorrow's visit of Swindon Supermarine (3pm).
Breeden, who has been in fine form since replacing Kiely in Brakes' goal, slipped and landed on the concrete while collecting a ball prior to Saturday's friendly with Southam, resulting in a hairline fracture of his lower arm.
The injury is not
thought to be too serious, but is expected to rule him out of tomorrow's game and Tuesday's rearranged clash at Chippenham, opening the door for Kiely to make his return.
It completes a dramatic turnaround for the 20-year-old, who was loaned out to Halesowen Town in December following some indifferent performances for Brakes.
However, Holleran is not worried about putting his faith in Kiely, believing Brakes will reap the benefits of the youngster's three-game spell with the Yeltz.
"The injury to Breeden has opened the door for Kiely," said Holleran. "I took him out of the firing line because of the run we were on. We were conceding a lot of goals and we'd seen him lose confidence.
"In any other position no one would notice the swapping and changing; I left Chris Murphy out at Hemel because of tactical reasons, it's part and parcel of the game. But with goalkeepers it's always highlighted more.
"But Chris will benefit from the spell at Halesowen, who are strong as a unit and don't concede many goals. We watched him against Merthyr Tydfil and he played well. I know he's a competent keeper and the team has looked a lot more solid in recent matches which will help. He's looked bubbly in training and I've no qualms about playing him."
Breeden aside, Holleran has a full quota to choose from for tomorrow's visit of Swindon and he says he is "expecting one or two disappointed faces" when he announces the squad.
Having recorded just two home wins from their nine league games at the New Windmill, Holleran is in no doubt where Brakes have to improve if they are to mount a serious play-off challenge.
"We're into January and a return of two home wins is not good enough for a club like Leamington. That for me has got to be the biggest improvement we make.
"We've got a big crowd and we've got to turn the New Windmill into a fortress. It has got to be a place where we look forward to playing and other teams are not keen."
He added: "We've got 24 matches left and 72 points to play for, that's a heck of a lot of points.
"I spoke to the Merthyr manager on Monday and he still believes they can put a run together and make the play-offs.
"With so many points to play for, if you're not targeting the play-offs, you're not sending out the right signals."
