Bromley boss Neil Smith: Since I’ve been here all you want to do is make a bit of history and show where this club has been and where it’s going so for someone like Chesterfield to be playing a league game at Bromley is fantastic

BROMLEY manager Neil Smith says he wants the Hayes Lane faithful to raise spirts when Chesterfield come calling on Tuesday night.

The Ravens have suffered three defeats on the spin, having lost 2-0 at home to Boreham Wood; 1-0 at Harrogate Town and 3-0 at Dagenham & Redbridge yesterday.

Bromley have slipped down the Vanarama National League table to fourteenth-place on 47 points and have nine games to pick up the two wins required to ensure top-flight football returns to Hayes Lane for a fifth season in August.

“I want to get into the top half, of course I do,” said Smith, whose side are two points adrift of eleventh-placed Barrow.

“I want to stay in there for three years. For a club like ours to be in the top 12 when you look at some of the clubs down at the bottom, your Aldershot’s, your Dover’s and Chesterfield and people like that, we’ve had a fantastic season and of course you always want to do better and we wanted to be better than last year.  It was a big ask because that was just a dream season.”

Bromley finished in a personal best finish in the top nine last season, with their highest number of top-flight wins and points (70) and they reached The Buildbase FA Trophy Final where they suffered Wembley heartbreak by losing on penalties to Brackley Town.

Bromley came away from Chesterfield with a point in a 1-1 draw on 27 November 2018 and they arrive at Hayes Lane sitting in eighteen-place with 42 points from 27 games, seven points adrift of the relegation zone, which is currently occupied by Havant & Waterlooville, Aldershot Town, Maidstone United and Braintree Town.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall and Smith is keen to pull off a scalp.

“Brilliant! It’s another great one for the club.  Since I’ve been here all you want to do is make a bit of history and show where this club has been and where it’s going so for someone like Chesterfield to be playing a league game at Bromley is fantastic,” said Smith.

“You just hope the supporters get behind us like they did against Boreham Wood and like they have at Harrogate and Dagenham and give us that extra lift because the boys are feeling down at the moment and they need it.”

Smith then takes his side to Tonbridge Angels on Tuesday 19 March as they bid to reach the Kent Senior Cup Final against Maidstone United or Gillingham.

The showpiece Final is scheduled for Tuesday 16 April at a venue to be decided.

Steve McKimm’s side are in fourth-place in the Bostik Premier Division, which is two levels lower than Bromley.

Smith said: “We want to do well in the Kent Senior Cup and get to the final if we can. The supporters love that cup, it means something to them as it does every game.”

Visit Bromley’s website: www.bromleyfc.tv

Bromley  v  Chesterfield
Vanarama National League
Tuesday 12 March 2019
Kick Off 7:45pm
at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF