Lovell: I'll give local players a chance - if they're good enough - EXCLUSIVE

ASHFORD TOWN boss Steve Lovell admits “schoolboy errors” contributed to his side’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat at Eastbourne Town on Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.

You would have thought thirteenth placed Ashford would have come away from third-bottom Eastbourne with a victory but the Ryman League - Premier and Southern divisions - are so inconsistent this season that anything can happen.

Lovell held a telephone conversation with Whitstable Town manager Marc Seager this morning for advice ahead of Ashford Town’s next game - at home to in-form side Cray Wanderers tomorrow night.

Whitstable held the Wands to a 1-1 draw at Belmont Road at the weekend, a result that stretches the Wands’ unbeaten run to twenty games.

“I was talking to Marc Seager this morning, they had a good result against Cray and he’s right what he says, the teams that make the least mistakes in the games win,” Lovell said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“On Saturday we gave Eastbourne all four goals, which were individual errors and we were punished.

“They were schoolboy errors, back passes not reaching the goalkeeper, people dallying on the edge of the box trying to beat people and losing it and the ball went in the net.

“They had four attempts and we had a lot of possession. Things didn’t fall for us, it was an off day. Everybody had an off day for the first time since the last dozen games anyway.”

Managers of Ryman Premier and Ryman One South keep scratching their heads as they know if their sides string some decent wins together they’ll climb the table - or the reverse if they fail to put points on the board.

And Lovell said: “You’ve got to be consistent and that’s why apart from the top three in our league all the rest of the teams haven’t been consistent and that’s what makes it an open league.

“There’s no pattern to any form. You look at the form table and prior to Saturday we were second or third and we go to Eastbourne and they beat us 4-1.”

Winger Jimmy Bottle (holiday) is expected to return for the visit of fourth placed side Metropolitan Police next weekend.

Paul Jones (hamstring) and Lee Hockey (broken nose) will be assessed ahead of that game and have both been ruled out for the midweek Kent derby.

Walid Matata was relegated to the substitutes bench on Saturday after arriving at the ground late.

The club have ordered a protective face mask from America to ensure versatile Hockey can play against Metropolitan Police on Saturday.

Looking ahead to the visit of Cray Wanderers tomorrow night, Lovell said: “They’re on a run of 20 undefeated games so our boys won’t need motivating for this one.

“I said to the boys before Saturday, the Eastbourne games will be hard as Cray and Metropolitan Police we know we’d put in a good game against them.

“Whether the boys thought Eastbourne was a walkover, I let them know different. You can only do so much.”

But Lovell knows unbeaten runs can come to an end and that his Ashford Town side could be the ones that end Cray’s impressive run.

But he warned: “It doesn’t have to come to an end if they keep playing the way they are. With their performances whose to say it will come to an end?

“All the teams we’ll do their best to try and stop that run and we’ll be one of them. Whether we do that or not is down to us, we’re definitely good enough.

“If you stop making individual errors we’ll start winning games. Other than Saturday and the Walton & Hersham game we haven’t made too many errors and that’s why we’ve been on a good run.”

Ashford Town are fifteen points adrift of the play-off’s and Lovell knows what his side must do in their last 12 games to match the ambition shown by the club.

“We’ve got 12 games to go and I think we have to win nine out of the 12 to have any chances,” he said.

“As long as mathematically we’ve got a chance (of qualifying for the play-off’s) that’s what we’ll try and do.”

Lovell is pleased with the emergency of Neale Manning (goalkeeper), James Humphreys (midfielder) and Scott Penfold (striker) - all eighteen-year-olds - that he has drafted in from the reserve side.

“We’re trying to give local boys, the reserves, a chance and hopefully build up communications with the local community where we can build up an interest for local people,” explained Lovell.

“I’m all for it. It will be great to have local players playing for Ashford next year as it makes training easier and all managers worry about their players travelling, getting to games on time. If we have local lads it’s not too much of a worry.

“They’ve got to be good enough. It’s allright having local talent but if they’re not good enough to get where you have to go perhaps you have to look elsewhere.

“You have to identify the talent and give it a try. What I’m trying to do now is give the youngsters in the reserves a go in the first-team between now and the end of the season.

“If there is potential there we can work on it ready for next year.”

And on the club’s plans for their Homelands Stadium, Lovell said: “I think their great. It’s very exciting as a manager. I’ve said to other people it’s a way forward. It’s not just helping the football club it’s helping local communities and building a bond with the football club and everyone within the community that they’ve got a team that they can support locally and have an interest in.”

Despite blooding in reserve team players into his first team squad, Lovell hasn’t given up on finishing in the play-off’s and making a surprise bid for promotion.

“When I took over it was about stability and making sure we weren’t going down,” said Lovell. “That’s hopefully something that we’ve achieved and we can start thinking towards next year and hopefully building up a squad that can start in August rather than starting in November.

“In a way there’s still a lot to be decided in the league. I think the next three or four games will determine my approach to the way we’re going to finish our last nine games of the season.

“If we win nine or possibly ten you still got a chance of the play-off’s. Tomorrow is a tough game but we need to mainly put a performance in that was missing at Eastbourne on Saturday.”

Visit Ashford Town’s website:  www.ashfordtownfc.co.uk

Ashford Town v Cray Wanderers
Ryman League Division One South
Tuesday 4^th March 2008
Kick Off 7:45pm
At The Homelands, Ashford Road, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent TN26 1NJ