We just weren't good enough, admits relegated Ward

RAMSGATE boss Jim Ward is coming to terms with his first ever relegation as a football manager, writes Stephen McCartney.

Yesterday’s 2-1 home defeat to Harlow Town virtually condemned the club to relegation out of the Ryman Premier League, meaning the Thanet club will be playing Ryman League Division One South football.

Boreham Wood, who are one place above the drop zone, need just one point to put the letter R beside Ramsgate’s name, but Ward, speaking to BBC Radio Kent yesterday, admits his side’s three-year tenure in the division has come to an end.

“We are relegated, baring miracles, mathematics like, so we’ll just build for next year,” a deflated Ward said.

“We’ll just build for next year. Ramsgate have reached the peak, maybe now is the time to restructure.

“Last year was probably the best Ramsgate Football Club have ever done. We got to the play-off’s (losing at Staines Town in the semi-finals) and we won the Isthmian League Cup, which is a great achievement for the boys.

“And of course it’s the same old story, the big clubs come and nick all your best players. We lost seven at the start of the season, one retired and the other one moved away and five went to (Dover Athletic, who) have done very well this year, so we’ve tried to rebuild this year.

“Obviously, we’ve made mistakes but again, we’ll rebuild again, so we’ll just get on with it.”

Suffering relegation for the very first time in his successful managerial career is a bitter pill to swallow for the Scot.

“The local newspaper asked to do a couple of pages spread on me at Christmas, I think that was the last time I won a game, on what my CV was like over the years,” said Ward.

“I think I’ve won thirteen senior trophies in that time, being at Maidstone, but mainly at Ramsgate and of course this is the first time that we’ve tasted the sour end of it - it’s just horrible.”

Having lost their appeal against their four-point deduction last month, Ward blames their form against fellow struggling teams for the reason behind their slump to the foot of the table - and ultimately relegation.

“I’m very close with my chairman Richard Lawson, we go and watch games and identify new players and stuff like that and really the four points didn’t help, that’s without a doubt," admitted Ward.

“But we’ve played all the teams around us now in the bottom six, bottom seven and they’ve all beaten us over the last four or five weeks so that tells it’s own story.

“At the end of the day we just weren’t good enough and I’m big enough and ugly enough to put my hands up and say that.”

With four league games remaining, Ward asks his players to display some pride in their remaining games, starting with next Saturday’s home game against Harrow Borough, a side that have climbed six points above the drop zone.

“I’m a football man, I want to win as many games of football I can,” said Ward.

“We’ve got Harrow Borough next week, I want to beat Harrow Borough.

“People were speaking earlier about what happens if you’re second, third bottom, who knows?

“If I can get myself above Heybridge Swifts I might get a reprieve, I just don’t know!”

Reflecting on their 19^th league defeat, that leaves the club rooted to the foot of the table on 31 points - four points adrift of Heybridge Swifts - who held champions Dover Athletic to a 1-1 home draw yesterday - Ward said, “We started off the game with a great tempo and played some lovely stuff in the first half, went in comfortably at half-time 1-0.

“But the second half was just the same old story that we’ve had for the rest of the season really, where we seemed to lose the plot a little bit and let them come onto us and they eventually ran out 2-1 (winners).

“We’re disappointed with our second half performance.”

Quotes courtesy of BBC Radio Kent: www.bbc.co.uk/kent

Visit Ramsgate’s website: www.ramsgate-fc.co.uk