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Daish won't discard part-timers

LIAM DAISH has admitted he won't slam the door in the faces of part-time players if they want to play for Nationwide Conference club Gravesend & Northfleet next season, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Stonebridge Road club are going full-time next season but the Fleet boss said there will be a transition period before everything settles down.

"It's going to be a transition," he said.  "We aren't going to go full-time straight away as you could be cutting your own throat.

"You've got to be careful, we will do it, but it will be a transition.  We will be looking to get players on full-time contracts.

"The players that we've got, who can't go full-time, we aren't pushing anyone out of the door but we just want to see more of the lads really and get to work with them day in and day out and that can only help."

Daish admitted he won't be forcing the current crop of part-time players to ditch their jobs to become professional footballers at Kent's premier non-league team.

"We are trying to bring them in a little bit more maybe an extra day a week if they can, but I can't see it making a great difference to our part-time players or us," he said.

"We are not in a position where we can just discard players that can't go full-time.  We've got to get a right balance. 

"A lot of players who are on a part-time basis are good honest players that you need.  They know what the league's about.

"The ones that we do get in full-time will probably be a little bit younger and we'll be able to work with them and bring them through. 

"It will be a slow transition but we are trying to do it as quickly as we can, getting the whole squad on full-time basis, working with them day in, day out."