Butler prepares for his hardest game in charge of Margate

Friday 29th January 2010

MARGATE boss Mark Butler says he has respect for his opposite number at Kingstonian, writes Stephen McCartney.

Alan Dowson has guided the Surrey giants to third place in the Ryman Premier League table - albeit thirteen points behind runaway leaders Dartford - despite a troubled start to their campaign.

Having clinched the Ryman League Division One South title last season, the K’s lost their opening four league games, leaking 19 goals in the process, but their Scottish manager has turned things around at Kingsmeadow and are destined to secure a play-off place come the end of April.

Margate go into Sunday’s game sitting in the relegation zone, and Butler, who was speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk today, expects a tough time.

“I think it will be one of the hardest games, if not the hardest, since we’ve come to Margate,” said Butler.

“I believe Kingstonian have got themselves in a great position, in terms of they had a bad start to the season and they’ve got themselves into a position where they’re in a secondary breakaway group.

“There’s a little group now just starting to breakaway. I don’t think they’ll get Dartford, but they’re in that group and fair play to them for doing it.

“But from about eighth or ninth to our position, it’s very, very tight.”

Despite sitting in nineteenth place, Margate are only 12 points adrift fifth-placed side Tooting & Mitcham United.

“It’s a very, very tough game,” predicted Butler.

“But what I’ve said all along in this league, if you’re not up for it in this league and the opposition are, anybody can beat anybody. That applies to us. The way we’re opening teams up and scoring goals we can always beat teams.

“We’re going there positive on Sunday and we’ve got respect for them. I know Alan Dowson very well and I like him. It will be very tough but we’re going there to be positive.”

Margate go into the game on the back of a 1-0 win over Ryman League Division One South side Chatham Town in the Kent Senior Cup.

Only 79 fans bothered to turn up at Hartsdown Park for the low-key second round tie, to see Curtis Robinson score an early goal to book their place in the quarter-finals.

“It was a fairly non-descript game,” Butler said of his first ever Kent Senior Cup game.

“I felt that both teams struggled to get some motivation being a very cold night, but we got through and that was the main thing.

“It was a winning habit, kept a bit of an unbeaten run going so a number of pleasing things.

“There’s only one thing worse than a horrible night and not many people watching and that’s losing the match. We didn’t do that, so pleased.”

The 44-year-old, Aldershot based Butler, who is looking forward to making the 20-minute drive to Kingsmeadow on Sunday, whilst the Margate travelling contingent have to set their alarm clocks early to make it for the 1 o’clock kick-off, was keeping tight-lipped over John Keister’s two-week suspension for misconduct.

The Hartsdown Park club issued the following statement three days ago, saying, “The club can announce that player John Keister has been suspended from all his contract duties for a period of 14 days whilst the club investigates allegations against him of misconduct.”

And Butler said today, “I’ve got no comment to make about that at this time. John has had an allegation made against him and the club is investigating that allegation.

“It’s an ongoing investigation and when we get to the bottom of what’s happened I’m sure we’ll all be making comments on it.”

www.kentishfootball.co.uk will be covering this game.

You can listen to commentary of this game by visiting www.margate-fc.com

Kingstonian v Margate

Ryman Premier League

Sunday 31st January 2010

Kick Off 1:00pm

At Kingsmeadow Stadium, Jack Goodchild Way, 422a Kingston Road, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey KT1 3PB