Although it was a shame it wasn’t a bit drier, last Saturday was a great day and was something myself and all the boys were delighted to be a part of.
Of course we didn’t get the result we wanted, however Brighton were a bit special and it is a credit to them and Gus Poyet that they brought their full squad to open the stadium.
I hoped going into Tuesday’s game against Dagenham that it would be more ‘realistic’, and that we would get more of the ball. This was the case, with the boys putting in a very good performance both individually and collectively. We have the players and the facilities to play good football and I think we did this and kept the ball well. After seeing Brighton play, it is apparent that the size of the pitch is there to be exploited and this is something we looked to do on Tuesday and will look to do in the future.
In terms of our match tomorrow, we know that Tonbridge will be a stern test, Tommy Warrilow has assembled a good side who will score goals and are also solid defensively. Some people are saying that tomorrow will show where we are, however I don’t believe this and think with a month to go until the start of the season tomorrow is still more about fitness than anything else.
With this in mind I feel it is important for the boys to not do too much too soon and to gradually build up their fitness. Some players had 90 minutes on Tuesday, so some others will get the full 90 tomorrow; Nicky Humphrey will get a full game, and we will also try and give Shaun Welford and Paul Booth 90 minutes after they played two thirds of Tuesday’s match.
Ian Draycott will miss the match after picking up a knock to his ankle on Tuesday, and Danny Lye is unavailable for the next couple of games as he is on holiday in Spain. We will also be assessing Paul Booth tomorrow after he got a whack on the heel against Dagenham. Ade Olorunda may make his return from injury against his old club, however we will not risk him unless he is 100% ready.
