AFC Croydon Athletic boss Kevin Rayner: We travel to Chatham looking to get back to some form to have a go at the last third of the season

AFC CROYDON ATHLETIC manager Kevin Rayner says his side have been struggling of late due to missing players.

The Rams are in the top six in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table, having collected 42 points from 26 games but have failed to score in their last couple of games during the past seven days.

Last Saturday, they were trounced 5-0 away to Canterbury City on the Kent coast and in midweek were held to a goal-less home draw by basement side Hollands & Blair.

Rayner takes his side to fourth-from-bottom side Chatham Town tomorrow, looking for an upturn in fortunes.

“We travel to Chatham looking to get back to some form to have a go at the last third of the season,” said Rayner.

“We have been a bit inconsistent of late but that hasn’t been surprising with a number of players missing through suspensions, illness and injury.

“We have changed the back four an awful lot in the last few games and again on Tuesday night against Hollands & Blair, we had a couple suspended and a couple injured, which meant we have not been at full-strength for those games.

“Tomorrow we will welcome Nahum Green and Tom Penson back into the squad and although we may have two out injured we should be much stronger than Chatham and then we can have a good go at Sevenoaks the following week.”

Rayner’s men are only four points adrift of fourth-placed side Whitstable Town going into their final 12 league outings of the campaign.

Rayner said: “There is still a lot of football to be played and we will need to get on a decent run to get anywhere near the top four at present.”

Visit AFC Croydon Athletic website:  www.pitchero.com/clubs/afccroydonathletic

Chatham Town  v  AFC Croydon Athletic
Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division
Saturday 24 February 2018
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Maidstone Road Sports Ground, Bournville Avenue, Chatham, Kent ME4 6LR