I want us to play for things and not make the numbers up, says Tonbridge Angels boss Tommy Warrilow

TONBRIDGE ANGELS boss Tommy Warrilow says he wants to keep his club in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South.


You only have to look at the club’s Christmas programme to understand the importance of maintaining their status at this level.

The Angels travel to third-placed Welling United on Saturday, before welcoming arch-rivals Dover Athletic to Longmead Stadium on Boxing Day (26 December).

They then face fellow strugglers Bromley at Longmead Stadium on Saturday, 29 December, before playing the return leg at Dover Athletic on New Years’ Day.

“I call it a fantastic month coming up,” said Warrilow, whose side are in their second season at Conference South level after winning the Ryman Premier League play-off’s with a 4-3 home win over Lowestoft Town after finishing runners-up to Sutton United.

Warrilow added: “We’re playing Welling, Dover twice, Bromley.  No disrespect to the League we’ve gone out of, I’d rather have those games and give our fans’ thos teams to watch than what we’ve been used to over the three or four years prior to getting promoted.

“You won’t hear me moaning having hard games coming up because this is what we’ve worked for and we want to stabilse ourselves to push on.

“I want us to play for things and not make the numbers up. It’s important we don’t lose track of how tight our league is.

“Anyone can beat anyone in our league. Basingstoke were in the play-offs last year and they’re having a tough time of it this year.

“I was never getting carried away with last year. Ninth was a massive, massive finish for us. If anything it was an over-achievement for us, but I’ll be looking to finish higher than ninth this year because I want to progress ever year.

“The longer we stay in this league the stronger we’ll get and that will help us push on to the next step.”

There are two Kent club’s in the division above, and Warrilow said: “We’d love to be up there with the Dartford’s and the Ebbsfleet’s.”

Dover have found their feet (third-place in our league) and Maidstone are back at home (sitting top of the Ryman League Division One South) and we’re trying to emulate that and push on with those people.

“I keep saying it. We have to remind ourselves this is the highest we’ve been at our club in our history.  The others have got the history and they’re all striving to get back to former glories.

“We all know what’s happening at Maidstone and it’s up to us to make sure we’re doing it the right way and not killing the club, which is the most important thing and being a little bit patient.

“We’ve got to be patient. Every time we lose a game it’s not the end of the world.

“I heard that Basingstoke was a must win game. It’s ridiculous after eighteen games,” added Warrilow, whose side have collected 20 points and are in eighteenth-place in the table.

“We’re seven points off a play-off spot and one point off a relegation battle.

“Must win games eighteen games into the season is a ludercrious comment to come out with.  We know what we’re doing. We know we’ve not played well over the last couple oF games. We’ve got to accept everything and get back on track.”

Visit Tonbridge Angels’ website: www.tonbridgeangelsonline.co.uk

Welling United  v  Tonbridge Angels
Blue Square Bet South
Saturday 22^nd December 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Park View Road, Welling, Kent DA16 1SY