IT isn't for nothing that a Manager of the Month Award is received thesedays with horror and pride in equal measure.

Stuart Humphreys proved just why at Rockingham Road on Saturday, celebrating his recognition for RMI's near-perfect December with a thudding defeat to Kettering Town.

Put into perspective, the four goal hiding itself might have been disappointing for the Railwaymen but especially against a side with so much comparative clout in the transfer market, RMI are not disgraced by a reverse that prods them down to 16th place in the very congested Conference North standings.

Sadly for travelling fans though, their hopes of making a game of things against the 'Poppies' were cut down to size inside the first ten minutes, Jean-Paul Marna beating a busy John Lamb for the first and Jean Black finished a move that had seen Lee Unsworth bypassed in Leigh's right-back position.

Kettering were able to dominate the fixture from thereon in and restricted the visitors to just a tame Chris Simm shot from distance as even the rain couldn't threaten the slick showing from the Northamptonshire outfit.

They had savaged Andy Nelson's RMI side 4-0 the previous season and took a giant leap towards repeating such a history when former Reading and Spurs midfielder Darren Caskey made it three.

And the nine-game unbeaten sequence came to a crushing end for Leigh when Brett Solkhon eased through to push home a fourth.

The drubbing acts as the worst possible preparation for the FA Trophy tie against Conference National side Stevenage Borough at Broadhall Way on Saturday (3pm kick-off) although there were mitigating circumstances at Kettering.

Leigh were missing both midfielder Steve Settle and player-coach Andy Roscoe, allied to a late arrival at Rockingham Road. Now Humphreys will be hoping that fate deals them a better hand in Hertfordshire on Saturday.