We’re fit and raring to go again after a disappointing Christmas period
The wet weather has wiped out all three games we were meant to play this month so far – but we’re hoping to get back into action at Concord Rangers this weekend.
It wasn’t a prosperous Christmas for us, with a couple of defeats, but after the postponements we’ve now got a blank sheet and we can look to go on a little run.
The weather may have done us a favour. Some of the lads who were carrying a few little niggles have been well rested, others have been working on their conditioning.
We’ve played two behind-closed-doors friendlies, against Wealdstone and Chipstead, which have been worthwhile exercises.
We had a look at a couple of trialists and most of the lads got an hour under their belts.
Since my last column, we’ve also signed four players – Aiden Hawtin, Jack Pattison, Derek Tieku and Myles Hippolyte.
Aiden and Jack are young players who will supplement the squad while we’re very excited about Derek and Myles.
Derek, a striker from Crystal Palace, is a very lively forward and the type we need up front. We’re chomping at the bit for him to start.
Goalscorers come at a premium in this division so you have to dip into the loan market or get some younger lads in who are hungry to prove themselves.
We’ve not put away the chances we’ve created recently but I wouldn’t say goalscoring is a major cause for concern – we’ve scored 29 in 20 games so far, which is a decent average.
Myles is another very exciting youngster, a talented winger. He has bags of pace and he’s just come back from an extended trial at Blackburn, so there’s plenty of people who know what he can do.
Although we’ve suffered a couple of defeats, and are in 11th, everything’s still so tight. We’re six points off third place at the moment and with a game or two in hand on some teams above us.
The way things are, with so many games to be played and teams taking points off each other, things could look so much different in just a few weeks. Every game this month will be crucial.
We want to keep in touch and give ourselves a chance of the play-offs.
But when you consider the remit from the chairman was to avoid relegation, and the fact we’ve got possibly the third-lowest budget in the league so we’re still doing well.
I still think there’s more to come from this team – I don’t think we’ve played to our full potential for 90 minutes, so when we do that will be very exciting.
On a personal level, my New Year’s resolution is to get fitter, from a football perspective.
I’ve always kept myself fit and I eat healthily but I’ve picked up a couple of injuries training this year – a calf injury and a hip flexor problem – which has left me kicking my heels a bit.
I’m a keen runner usually and I like joining in with the boys so I want to get back doing that.
Who knows, if I can get myself fitter then maybe by the end of the season I’ll be able to play a reserve game or two.
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