Today we welcome Eastbourne Borough to the Mangata Pay UK Stadium. May I wish their Directors, Manager, players and supporters an enjoyable stay with us and a safe journey home.
Well, after being close to the top of the form guide for over three months and after putting ourselves bang in the middle of the promotion conversation, we have had a very big wobble and I’m now not so sure we have the character to get us out of this downslide, unless we come together, stop over-analysing everything, relax and trust each other.
Recent results show us we must stay humble and accept we are perhaps not quite as good as we possibly thought we were just three or four weeks ago and must react positively to our setbacks. Our injuries, on top of Chris Bush’s suspension, have of course not helped matters recently, but let’s not make any excuses, as our squad strength is deep, and our recent player recruitment has meant that we are looking strong on paper.
That said, football is not won on paper, and some players might need to re-focus, settle down, regain a little confidence and some players might need to look at themselves and their game management in those tough in-game moments.
These I feel are just some of the factors that determine why we are failing at present and getting beaten. So we have to get back to grinding out wins, winning ugly and stop feeling sorry for ourselves….. as I said a few weeks ago, I thought our fitness level, work ethic and togetherness had improved and that had clearly shown itself for three months or more.
However, on Tuesday night away at Hornchurch, we deservedly got beaten on the road against a workmanlike, organised, bang- average mid-table team because we didn’t defend properly. Our recent form is seen by me as a lot more than just a hiccup and only we can rectify that. That said we must trust in each other and in our quality to find a way to become more consistent once again and find a way to get our promotion ambitions back on track.
We arrive here today against Eastbourne Borough, looking bruised, if not quite battered and so I remind my staff, manager, dressing room and you the supporters, that we either throw the towel in or we come together and fight for the right to stay in this title race as we still sit fifth in the league.
After today we then travel to local rivals St Albans City who are themselves fighting for their lives at the other end of the table. I hope our supporters make this a real derby atmosphere and turn out in their numbers, while ensuring we are loud, proud and in full voice……….trust me your presence is needed, and I know will make a big, big difference to us on the day.
So, as we enter the last third of the season, we know we have not been firing lately but let’s not make any excuses, not while we still have everything to play for……..our injured and suspended players will return shortly, I refuse to accept excuses or give excuses and from hereon in, I know we will get better.
This afternoon though is a possible play-off rehearsal with today’s opponents, Eastbourne Borough as it looks like we’ll both be in the mix come the end of April. In the three games we’ve played against each other this season, there has been very little to choose between the two teams, as those who watched our 2-1 League defeat down at Eastbourne, our 1-0 FA Cup win and our 1-0 FA Trophy win here can all testify.
From next week I expect to have Josh Hare back from injury and today we have new central defensive signing Josef Yarney available. I also expect Callum Reynolds, Jack Payne and Chris Bush to be back with us within the next few weeks and that will really help our cause.
With Erico Sousa also getting more minutes and slowly getting back to full fitness, I feel our defensive and attacking strength will have an impact on the title and play-off race going forward and I believe our new signings and attacking strength from the bench could ultimately make a difference as the pressure builds.
In truth as the injured players return, I hope we can also show our defensive and fighting qualities once again and improve on our recent very poor game management as after what was a difficult start to our season, we showed tremendous character to come again and only through hard work and determination did we claw our way back into the promotion race.
Luke’s mindset really helped the dressing room back then, and we hope our new recruits are buying into what we are all trying to achieve here…. I feel as a club we should double down and focus on the ambition of the club but relax a bit more and enjoy the pressure of being a promotion challenger.
Three months ago, I would have been very thankful just to be back in the promotion race, and I believe that this title race will go to the wire, and If any team is better than us come the season’s end, then there will no complaints or excuses from me.
As I’ve said before, we now have a very good squad being built for the future, we already know our quality, we already know our fitness levels, we know our work ethic is good and we must now come together, graft like never before and picture the finishing line.
All of this means that attitude will reflect leadership, and we need to be fighting every inch to the season’s end and into the play- offs, if that’s what’s required to bring us the success we crave. Each and every one of us must now bring positivity, show togetherness and our resilience and courage.
I remind our players, management team, staff and supporters, you must deal with setbacks, embrace any pressure and you must be brave and show your qualities. In truth, I’m genuinely hurting, but we must must must, trust ourselves to regain our form, trust ourselves to play with pride and passion and if we do that, we’ll re-find our focus and if we do that, we still have every chance of bringing success back to Meadow Park.
Lastly, whoever you support, let’s hope for an open, attacking game and may the best team win.
Take care,
Danny.
