Firstly, a big thank you to everyone for their well wishes for this new position for me at the club. I was already honoured to be a part of this amazing club, but to now be here as the manager and get the opportunity to lead this group of players, that is very special.
A big thank you to Matty who is and has always been a good friend to me. We have done a great job here since the formation of the club and I know that with Barney, Ash, Harinder, Casey, Meg and our current squad of players, we will continue to push on.
So far this season, from our perspective the start of the season has been fantastic. Newly promoted into step 5 and firmly pushing to stay in the top 5. We have good knowledge of the league and although this league has a reputation for being physical and playing kick and rush football, you will rarely see that from us. We will continue with our identity, playing football. That’s not to say that we can’t mix it up when we need to!
Last week in my first official game in charge against Harefield. I can’t fault the players’ reaction. It was fantastic. Possibly the fastest out of the blocks performance I’ve seen from us in a very long time which resulted in an exciting game and a hearty collective finish when we went down to 10. That game unfortunately came with some serious casualties; However, our squad depth is fantastic and that’s the part that will always carry our success.
It’s been a fairly turbulent start to the season, but all things considered we have navigated it well and the players have shown their class. These players really do recognise that they’re playing for the badge and not for themselves. That for me at this stage of the season already is a big win that I’m extremely proud of.
We welcome the visitors Reading City today to Stag Meadow for the second time this season. The boys will be extremely motivated for this one.
Hope you enjoy the beer, enjoy the sausages and enjoy the game. Non-league doesn’t get much better than this.
