Rochester United boss Matt Hume: The club is in a much better place than two years ago

ROCHESTER UNITED manager Matt Hume says he has aspirations for his side to finish in the middle of the pack this season.

The club are sitting in the bottom four of the Southern Counties East Football League table on 8 points from 10 games, a couple points clear of bottom side Croydon.

Hume said: “If we keep focused and keep working hard, we can hopefully start climbing the league.

“What’s good is we were right down the bottom a month ago and now we’re in that area if we can get a little run going we can be mid-table.

“As a squad we’re definitely stronger so that’s really encouraging and based on our form in the last month and playing well we’ve turned a corner and with a lot of work and people really wanting it enough we can hopefully start climbing the league.”

The club finished last season at the foot of the table but were reprieved from relegation into the Kent Invicta League due to the fact that Woodstock Sports ceased to exist and Lingfield applied for voluntary relegation and a switch across to closer to home.

“We came bottom last year in my first year back and there was a lot of work to do,” explained Hume.

“I do feel we’ve moved forward an awful lot more. The committee have moved forward with lots of things, the club is in a much better place than two years ago with all the work we’ve had to do.

“The squad’s good. We’re getting that gel, we’ve found out an awful lot more what we’re about this year and it’s great that we’ve had the opportunity to be in this league this year and the main aspiration this year is one, most importantly, to stay in it and secondly to be a good side in it, which I believe we are and show that by coming at least, my aim personally is to be a good midtable side with the budget we’ve got.

“We haven’t got a budget.  We pay a little bit of expenses where we can to help players out.

“If we become a respected side and every game that we go in to people give us the respect and know they’re going to have a game on their hands and be a good Kent League side, that’s what we want to do as a club.”

Rochester United are next in action when Erith & Belvedere visit Rede Court Road in the Southern Counties East Football League next Saturday, 24 October (3pm).