The next four months are massive as we try to get Greenwich Borough where they need to be in the league above, says newly-appointed boss Gary Alexander

GREENWICH BOROUGH’S newly-appointed manager Gary Alexander says his side must keep the pressure on leaders Hollands & Blair going into 2016.

Alexander, 36, was appointed manager following the axing of Ian Jenkins on 21 December 2015, following an incident with a club director before the home game against Beckenham Town that weekend.

Alexander has appointed John Mackie, a former team mate at Leyton Orient, as his assistant manager.

Greenwich Borough go into the New Year sitting in second-place in the Southern Counties East Football League with 43 points from 20 games.

They are eight points adrift of Gillingham-based leaders Hollands & Blair, who claimed back-to-back Kent Invicta League titles and are enjoying life at their highest level of football that they’ve played in their entire history.

Former Millwall ace Alexander’s first game in charge of the club was a 2-0 home win over Erith & Belvedere on Boxing Day, both goals coming from Jake Britnell.

Tomorrow, Alexander takes his side to Greatness Park to tackle eleventh-placed Sevenoaks Town.

“Looking forward to playing against Micky Collins. I know him through our sons and I’m sure it will be a tough game as he’ll have his team more than up for the match,” said the 36-year-old.

“We need to go there and be on the ball and try to get three points as we have a gap to close on Hollands & Blair.

“The next four months are massive as we try to get Greenwich Borough where they need to be in the league above but all we can do is keep pressing and hope the leaders drop points.

“It’s out of our hands and we have to keep winning and hope but we believe we have a chance.

Collins was on a Christmas family holiday in Spain over Christmas and missed his side’s 3-1 defeat at Crowborough Athletic on Boxing Day.

Julian Leigh said: “That’ll be interesting because I’ve heard Greenwich Borough have got a decent budget!

“We’ll give it a shot, that’s all we can do. A little bit of lady luck that we had at Corinthian, if that rubs off, maybe we’ll get something out of it, who knows?

“I believe we’ll just keep plugging away. I actually believe the club is in a far better place than it was two seasons ago and prior to that.

“The set-up is good. I think the club is in a good place really. We’ve got a good chairman (Paul Lansdale). I think the management team is good, they all want to pull in the same direction.”

A crowd of 167 were in attendance at Crowborough Athletic on Boxing Day, but Sevenoaks Town struggle to hit the 100 mark.

Sevenoaks resident Leigh said: “Unfortunately Sevenoaks is a rugby and cricket town. I don’t think we get the support we deserve.

“I live in Sevenoaks, I’m a local, I’ve lived there all my life and it’s a cricket and ruby town and nothing is ever going to change it.

“What it will be like if we’re up a level, who knows? That’s a long way in the future.

“We’ve got 52 teams and a lot of youth kids. They’ve got a lot of kids around there. We don’t get them or their parents through so maybe it ain’t that type of town (that supports football).”

When asked the club’s aims for 2016, Leigh replied: “As far as I’m concerned and I know Mick appreciates it, we would like to finish certainly as high as we did last year.

“If that’s not possible, certainly top half. Let’s be realistic about it, 20 games, 23 points, every game is tough in this league.

“We can rack up some points. We had a good run at the end of last season, which pushed us up to eighth, which I believe is the highest the club have finished for a few years and there’s no reason why we can’t push up again. Where we end up, only time will tell.”

Visit Sevenoaks Town’s website: www.sevenoakstownfc.co.uk

Visit Greenwich Borough’s website:  www.greenwichboroughfc.co.uk

Sevenoaks Town  v  Greenwich Borough
Southern Counties East Football League
Saturday 2^nd January 2016
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Greatness Park, Mill Lane, Seal Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5BU

Article published: 15:50 – Friday 1 January 2016