Tom Parkinson faces make-or-break fortnight

University of Kent manager Tom Parkinson says he is expecting a tough battle when he takes his side to Nottingham on Wednesday.



The Canterbury-based outfit travel to the Midlands (1:30pm kick-off) to contest a BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Mars Football Trophy Semi-Final after beating their counterparts at Brighton, Chichester and St Mary’s.

”We can’t wait to get started,” said Parkinson.

”We’ve had a good season so far. We’re still unbeaten in the League and the Cup, we’re unbeaten in 34 matches. All the boys are raring to go for Wednesday.

”We’re expecting a tough battle. I think they’re midtable in their league, but they’ve won in their last five games.

”You don’t get to the semi-finals of a national Cup if you’re not very good so we’re expecting a tough battle.”

Reflecting on their run to reach this stage, Parkinson said: “We’ve played Brighton away, Chichester at home and St Mary’s in the Quarter-Finals, who were top of the league with us and we managed to get an important away win there in the quarter-finals.

”We don’t do anything to lose any game, a league game or a cup game and it hurts any time you lose, especially a semi-final.

”We’re making sure the boys’ are preparing right.”

University of Kent play the Haart of Kent County League representative side on their 3G Pitch at their Canterbury site tonight at 8 o’clock.

Darren Phillips’ side beat Kent County League Division One outfit Otford United 2-1 underneath the lights at Otford Recreation Ground last Wednesday thanks to a first half brace from Hildenborough Athletic midfielder Steve Ashmore, before Otford pulling a goal back early in the second half through Jamie Knight.

Phillips will name his squad tomorrow for their FA Inter-League Cup Preliminary Round clash against the Sussex County League, which takes place at Chatham Town this coming Saturday.

Parkinson revealed there will be numerous changes for tonight’s warm-up.

”We’ve got a little game tonight where most of the boys’ will be rested for Saturday, boys’ who need minutes will play,” he said.

”The majority of us won’t be playing tonight. A few will play 45, who need a bit of playing time and others will play 90 minutes.

”We’ve got three teams at the University so it’s a good chance for a few second team players to try to get in the squad for Wednesday.

”Hopefully we can go up there with a fully fit squad on Wednesday and put in a performance which hopefully will win.”

Wednesday’s squad to face Nottingham will feature several players who play semi-professional football.

Parkinson (Ramsgate) and Sheldon Selly (Aveley) both play Ryman League football, whilst Chris Kinnear (Corinthian), Alex Nelson, Alfie Munday and Matt Harris (Canterbury City) play in the Kent League.

Adam Ball, meanwhile, plays cricket for Kent.

Parkinson is unavailable for University of Kent’s Haart of Kent County League campaign because of his commitments to Ramsgate.

The side are presently second-from-bottom, with four wins and four draws from ten games but they still have got to cram in fourteen league games.

Reflecting on their Kent County League campaign to date, Parkinson said:
 “It’s a bit of a trial and error for us this year. Last year there was only two of us that played on a Saturday, now there’s five or six missing every Saturday.

”We’ve still got a team that’s good enough to compete in that league and probably the league above so it all depends whose available at the weekend, with people going home or working.

”When we’ve got a fully strength squad on a Saturday, we’re a match for anyone.”

When asked how he juggles his busy life of playing football for Ramsgate, coaching and playing for the University and studying for his financial maths degree, Parkinson said; “To be fair football takes over quite a lot of my life.  In my spare time I try to study here and there.  It’s enjoyable. It keeps you occupied. I don’t have a lot of free time.

”It’s nice to be able to do something that you enjoy and try and get a degree at the same time.”

Meanwhile, Parkinson says Tim Dixon’s Ramsgate side face a make or break period when they travel to second-placed Faversham Town tomorrow night, welcome third-placed Dulwich Hamlet to Southwood Stadium on Saturday and then welcome fourth-placed Leatherhead on Tuesday 5 March.

The Rams are in ninth-place in the table, with 46 points from 29 games – one point behind fifth-placed Crawley Down Gatwick - and have everything to play for as they bid to grab a play-off place at the end of the season.

”We’ve got some big games coming up which will probably make or break our season,” said Parkinson.

”As long as we can get a few points on the board and keep in the mix there’s no reason why we can’t get into the play-offs.

”Down there we generally think we’re good enough to get into the play-offs – we just have to go and show it now.

”Anyone can beat anyone on their day. We tend to do well against the better sides. It’s just the ones down the bottom where we struggle to pick up points.  Our form against the top teams has been decent this year, so we have to keep the consistency going.

”We’re on a good little run. We lost to Hythe last week. I think we’ve only lost two or three in the last 12 games so hopefully we can keep that going.”