We can't do any more for the players' in terms of preparation, says Nicky Southall

WHITSTABLE TOWN player-manager Nicky Southall says he wants his side to hit the ground running when the new season kicks off on 10 August.


The Oystermen kicked off their nine-game pre-season campaign by going down to a 4-0 home defeat to League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge yesterday.

Southall, 41, who played in a midfield diamond during the first half, used 22 players and took plenty of positives in the sunshine at Belmont Road.

Debutant striker Mo Takalobighashi struck the crossbar early on during a good opening spell from Whitstable.

But Dagenham & Redbridge were 2-0 up at the break, courtesy of Louis Dennis’ opening strike from sixteen-yards and Medy Elito’s penalty after former Lordswood midfielder Peter Huggens raised his hands in the penalty box following a Daggers’ corner.

Southall made five changes at the break and a further six were made around the hour mark and this damaged the flow to their game.

Former Charlton Athletic, Bromley and Hastings United striker, trialist Bradley Goldberg, 19, slotted in the Daggers’ third with fourteen minutes remaining, before Ian Gale headed home a late fourth.

Whitstable Town went into the game with a rigorous training schedule in the tank and had at least seven training sessions before yesterday’s game.

Southall, who has played at every level of the professional game and at non-league sides Dover Athletic and now Whitstable Town, knows how vital it is to be fit in time of the league campaign.

He said: “We need to get things right off the field and hopefully the on the field things will come hand in hand.”

Last season was an eye opener for former Gillingham ace Southall.

He said: “I learnt a lot about bad habits.  Looking in from the outside being a professional, there’s a lot of bad habits from players, like not turning up for training or matches.

“Football should be your switch off day. When you’ve got your work commitments all through the week you should be able to switch off and on a Saturday you’re kicking a ball around for your living because that’s what I call it on a Saturday, it’s your living.

“I’ve always said it was my living on a Saturday and I want to show people that I’m good at my living and that’s what I want my players’ to do, go and show the fans and the opposition and other people that you’re good at your job on a Saturday and that job on a Saturday is playing football and that’s ultimately what we’ve got to get in our mentality.

“All the training you do during midweek, it’s all built up towards the Saturday. That’s where you want to be playing games on a Saturday and Tuesday. It’s your bread and butter and go out and enjoy it and play with a smile on your face.

“There’s a lot of bad habits and I want to turn that around and twist it to a positive frame of mentality this season.”

Southall wants that professional attitude to get the club off to an excellent start in Ryman League Division One South this season.

“I don’t like looking into the future too much,” said Southall. “I just want to play it low key and play every game on its merit.  We want to get off to a real good start.

“We break into the season into four quarters and our first quarter is to get ourselves a good start and to give ourselves a decent platform to work from going into the darker months, the November’s and December’s.  That’s when the real football happens and that’s when you get caught out if you’re not at it in those months when it’s dark, cold damp and windy.

“You need a different mentality going into those months but we need to give ourselves a decent platform going into those months.

“We want a good start. If it doesn’t happen for us we just have to keep working on it and hopefully turn it around.

“We can’t do any more for the players in terms of preparation so the ball lies firmly in their court. If they don’t have a good start they won’t have better preparation to go on and progress to excel in professionalism as we call it now and get off to a decent start.”

Whitstable Town return to their fitness regime until they face their Ryman League Division One South rivals Herne Bay on Saturday 13 July.

The two sides meet at The Belmont to contest the Bruce Smith Shield but despite the club’s two big rivalries Southall is playing down the importance of the fixture.

He said: “It’s another pre-season friendly.  You can’t dress it up any other way. Yes, it’s a derby game, it’s a pre-season friendly and we’re working towards our peak fitness.”

Meanwhile, the club announced yesterday that a local food retailer based in the High Street have agreed a one-year deal to sponsor the club’s new kit.

Chairman Gary Johnson said: “It’s a great deal for the club and I’m delighted local entrepreneur Binny Amin has agreed to sponsor the club.

“I met Binny through local networking group BNI and then again through discussions with Simon Skeet, our newly appointed commercial manager.

“It’s clear that Binny is passionate about Whitstable and the surrounding areas and that of the service that he and his team offer both the residents and visitors to the town through their High Street Budgens store.”

Visit Whitstable Town’s website: www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk