We need to get back to the stadium and make it our own home, says Erith Town boss Adam Woodward

ERITH TOWN manager Adam Woodward admits to feeling like a stranger in his own home this season.

The Dockers have won only five of their 19 home league games at Oakwood in Crayford, the ground of Bostik South side VCD Athletic this season and as a result the club have finished in the bottom four of the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table this season, collecting 39 points from 38 games.

“This league has got big finances.  Look the club work tirelessly behind the scenes to give me what I can have,” said Woodward, who won the First Division title in his only season at Glebe.

“We’ve built massively off the field for next season, they’ve managed to bring four youth teams in, possibly another two, so the club never had that before and Mark Deveney has worked tirelessly to get that in.

“The club work non-stop trying and all the time the club’s trying to progress, I’m happy!

“We’re moving back to Erith Stadium next season, which is a massive bonus because we play our home games here but this isn’t home.  This hasn’t felt like home all season. Our home record is terrible so we need to get back to the stadium and make it our own home really.”

The Dockers have finished fourth-from-bottom for two season’s running now and Woodward wants improvement next season.

“I want a top half finish if I can.  I have got the players, they have got potential,” said Woodward, who admitted that his side have not recovered from the loss of striker Danny Gannon at the end of November.

“We’ve been very unlucky losing Danny Gannon, that was massive this year for us losing him with a broken leg,” said Woodward.

“That really affected us for the whole season really. I don’t think we really got back from that. We never found anyone to replace him. He just hit a little bit of form.  We’ve missed a centre forward all year. We’ve filled gapes, the youngsters that are dual-registered hasn’t helped either but it is what it is.”

Visit Erith Town’s website:  www.erithtown.co.uk