We can't take our eye of the league after last year, says Bromley coach Neil Smith

BROMLEY assistant manager Neil Smith says he has banned any talk of The FA Cup as the in-form side prepare for a Kent derby against Welling United on Saturday.



The Ravens stretched their unbeaten run to seven when they came away from Crabble to knock Dover Athletic out of The FA Cup last weekend.

Bromley won the Third Qualifying Round tie 2-1, courtesy of goals from Richard Pacquette and substitute Tony Finn and their reward is a home tie against Worcester City in the last qualifying round on 20 October.

But before they can look forward to the clash against the Blue Square Bet (Conference) North side Mark Goldberg’s side face Jamie Day’s Welling United on Non-League Day.

Bromley reached the First Round last season – going down to a 3-0 defeat away to League One side Leyton Orient – but Smith admitted everyone at Hayes Lane knows it’s important to pick up points in the League if they are to challenge for promotion.

Bromley took their eye off the League during their FA Cup run last season and a run of eighteen games without a win saw the club slid down towards the relegation zone but they managed to stay up in seventeenth-place.

Smith said: “It was really, really pleasing with the result against Dover in the FA Cup.  It’s so important to the club bringing in prize money.

“We’re back to our bread and butter.  The League is more important to us, up against a tough team like Welling, who did very well under Jamie last season and are up there again this season.

“As confidence goes we are really confident that we can come in and put a performance in but we know how difficult it’s going to be.

“We’ve had a meeting and we’ve already said it. The FA Cup is great but it’s a one-off. This is the league, but the league is where we want to be, challenging for promotion if ever we got the chance.

“We can’t take our eye of the league because of what happened last year and we don’t want to go through the same mistakes as last year.

“Hopefully we’ve learnt that we can’t switch off and head for the first round because you’ve got important league games coming up each week.”

When asked what he is expecting against fifth-placed Welling United on Saturday, Smith said: “Knowing Jamie, a very, very well organised, good footballing side.  I know they’ve lost a couple of players but we know they’re going to be physical as well and we have to match them in every department and if we do that then we’ve got a good chance as well.”

“No talk of FA Cup – it’s as though we’re not even in it!  It’s all about the league and it’s all about Welling.  We know how difficult they are and we know how good they are. We need to be amongst them in the league and to do that we need to get a result against them on Saturday.”

Smith declined to speak about the injury crisis at Hayes Lane at present, saying, “The ones that played put on a great performance (at Dover). Again, we’ll have to assess them on Thursday night.  They might be in, they might not. By tonight we’ll have a better idea what players we’ve got.

“We had a good training session Tuesday, rested a couple of players and we’ll see how we are tonight.”

Bromley – who are unbeaten at home - are offering half-priced admission to those supporters’  - and kids for a quid – for those fans who enter the turnstiles before 2pm on Saturday.

Kick It Out, football’s equality and inclusion campaign, will be in attendance on the day raising awareness of its work throughout the football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and work for positive change. Both teams will warm up in “One Game, One Community” t-shirts along with player mascots on the day who will all be representatives from Bromley’s youth and junior sides.

Non-League Day, now running for its third consecutive year, is a celebration of the semi-professional and amateur game and a chance for fans of clubs higher up the footballing pyramid to experience football at a level they may be otherwise unfamiliar with. Moreover, it helps promote hundreds of clubs across the country who are mostly volunteer run and do so much good for the local community.
 

“It’s Non-League Day so we’re looking for a big crowd as well,” said Smith.

“It’s a massive day and we want to do it for the supporters. We want the supporters to get behind us like they have been from day one this season. We’ve had a rookie time and we’ve managed to steer ourselves around. We know how quickly football can turn.

“We want them to come in their numbers and get behind the club and hopefully we can give them something to shout about because last season they didn’t have a lot to shout about and we really don’t want another season like that!”

Smith, who managed Welling United during 2007-2008, says he is looking forward to facing the Wings.

He said: “It’s a lovely club. They’ve got great supporters. It didn’t happen for me there. I was probably too new with a lack of experience after Woking. It was going through a transitional phase as well.  It’s a terrific club and I only wish them well, but I want Bromley to win so that’s where my focus is on.”

Meanwhile, any FA Cup replay at Worcester will take place on Monday 22 October (7:45pm).

Visit Bromley’s website: www.bromleyfc.net  

Bromley  v  Welling United
Blue Square Bet South
Saturday 13^th October 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF