Tonight, we welcome Chelmsford City 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 convincingly beating both Eastbourne Borough and local rivals St Albans City recently, we are hopefully edging our way back towards the top of the form guide and If we can do that, then it’s perfect timing for the run-in and it would put us back in the title race, after having a very big wobble.
Recent results and performances show we are at times still a conundrum wrapped up in a question mark regarding our form, and we accept in recent weeks that we have at times not been quite good enough or consistent enough compared to just one short month ago.
Our injuries have not helped matters, of course, and when coupled with Chris Bush’s suspension it had disrupted us, but with Josh Hare and Bushy now back, Luke has 18 very good players to choose from. So, let’s not make lame excuses for those unexpected defeats, as our squad now has real strength, and our recent player recruitment means we have incredible depth in all areas.
As I’ve said before, our players just need to re-focus, settle down, regain a little confidence and some simply needed to look at their game management in those tough in-game moments. These are just some of the factors that I feel will determine our title and promotion ambitions.
That said it does feel that reality is finally sinking in as the run-in approaches in regard to what is needed at this level, and thankfully we have got back to grinding out a few wins, winning ugly and thankfully we’ve stopped feeling like the world owes us a living.
As I keep saying our fitness levels, work ethic and togetherness have improved and that has shown itself again over the last 10 days. Our recent loss of form came out of the blue and was not foreseen by me – that said, our wobble has been a real test of people’s character and let’s be honest it was far more than a blip.
Hopefully though, after two very big wins, we are about to embark on another unbeaten run so let’s buckle up, trust in each other once again and trust in our quality. We know Luke loves to grind out wins, but he also has the quality and players in his dressing room to find other pathways to promotion and I have faith that this squad can get our title ambitions back on track tonight by making it three unbeaten.
I felt we arrived here against Eastbourne Borough 10 days ago, looking a bit bruised and battered and so I reminded my staff, manager, dressing room and you supporters in my last programme notes that we either throw the towel in or come together and fight for the right to stay in this title race as we sat fifth that day in the league………. and we’ve done that.
Tonight, we sit fourth and are only a few points adrift even after the wobble, as such we are still in the mix and with our senior injured players starting to return our squad strength is immense and I’m told our skipper Jack Payne is now almost ready to join the squad for the trip down to the West Country next weekend.
After tonight’s must-win game, we need to get ready for two huge games at Torquay United on Saturday and then Truro next Tuesday. As such we will prepare on Thursday before travelling down there after training on Friday afternoon and stay down there for five days, to deal with both games in the most professional way possible.
As such this is a massive 8 days for us as we first meet a rejuvenated Chelmsford City, before taking on Torquay United and Truro who are both fighting for the right to lift this title or win the play-offs. I know in comparison to some that our support base is small, but it is very loyal. So, I hope some of our supporters can find a way to make the sacrifices and do the journeys, as your support would be so appreciated by myself, the gaffer and the dressing room.
So, as we near the run-in, in what has been an eye-opening season for me, I know we have let ourselves down at times, I also know we have not quite fired at times, but let’s not look back in anger and make excuses. Let’s look forward together with optimism and hope in our hearts, as trust me our fight, spirit and belief are still strong, and we know we still have everything to play for.
It feels like momentum is gathering at a great time, as most of our injured and suspended players are returning, and I refuse to accept any excuses or negativity,
I refuse to give one inch or give way to thoughts of failure, as I believe from hereon in, yes there will be setbacks, but we will only get better.
Tonight, I’m reliably informed that we’ll also get Josh Hare back from injury and as I
said above with Chris Bush also back on Saturday from his suspension, that is two very experienced players who will make us very strong in those defensive areas. On top of that Callum Reynolds who we recently signed from Bromley is also expected to return to full fitness within the next 14 days.
Trust me these are all top-quality defenders who will add experience, game management and help our cause going into March and April.
As such our only long-term injuries are possibly Josef Yarney and Gus Mafuta……. however, with Erico Sousa finally back and pain free, I now feel our defensive cover, coupled with our attacking strength will only improve us and these quality players will I hope have a lasting impact on the run in, on the title destination and the play-off race as a whole going forward.
I believe my investment in our new signings and in our attacking strength off the bench, will ultimately make a huge difference in March and April as the pressure builds. I genuinely feel we’ll start to re-show our defensive strength and our fighting qualities in those pressure moments which can only improve our chances of finishing the season like potential champions.
So, after what was a very difficult start to our season, I feel we have all shown tremendous character and unity to come again and that has only been achieved through investment, mental strength, togetherness, hard work and an inner determination to claw our way back into the promotion conversation.
I of course hope the recent extra investment in new signings, shows everyone what we are all trying to achieve here as a football club, as I hate this league and everything about it with a passion. As such I want us all to despise all things mediocrity, and double down on our ambition and I remind everyone to focus on us, and re-focus on our strengths, focus on our qualities and focus on enjoying the pressure of having the best squad in this promotion scrap.
A month ago, I was possibly just thankful to be back in a title race after our mediocre start. 10 days ago, I was just thankful to still be in the play-offs after four losses in six. The truth is though, even after those four losses nobody got away and with all the twists and turns still to come, we are still bang in this title race and we’re not going away.
I believe this promotion race has already become a helter-skelter of a ride and it will possibly go to the last day….. I have always been consistent though with my messaging and I repeat it again, “If any team or teams are better than us come the season’s end, then there will no complaints or excuses from me”,. That said, I need us to scrap for every point, every goal, every clean sheet, every point, and every win as I believe 88 points with our goal difference could well win this league.
As I’ve said many times, we do now genuinely have a very good squad that’s also being built with one eye on the future. We see in training every day our quality, we know our fitness levels, we know our work ethic and we knew when we had the recent wobble that we must unite, come together and graft like never before, we can now picture the finishing line and we are convinced we can bring our supporters, our town and our community the success we all crave.
I again respectfully remind our players, my management team, my staff and you our loyal supporters, that we must mentally deal with the setbacks together and accept any pressure that comes with title and promotion ambitions. In truth, life taught me a long time ago, that to achieve success whether in family or business life you must be mentally strong.
Overall, though if I want sustained success for my football club, for our town and for you loyal supporters, then I must trust my instincts, trust my key staff, trust my partners, my sponsors and continue to invest. Because I know if I can do that and continue to care about our community then we still have every chance of bringing promotion to our football club, our town and our community.
Lastly, whoever you support, let’s hope for an open, attacking game and may the best team win.
Take care,
Danny.
