Daish set for some transfer window activity

EBBSFLEET UNITED boss Liam Daish says he understands why fans didn’t turn up for Tuesday night’s FA Trophy Second Round tie against Stalybridge Celtic, writes Stephen McCartney.

A crowd of just 467 - the lowest of the season - saw the Fleet go a goal down, courtesy of Nathan Joynes’ 22^nd minute finish, but the holders upped their urgency during the second half, following a poor first, and two second half sweet strikes from Stacy Long and Jamie Hand sealed a flattering 2-1 win over Blue Square North opponents.

Although cash-rich Premier League club Manchester City can reportedly offer AC Millan’s Kaka an OBSCENE £500,000 per WEEK, it’s a different story for followers of Kent football, hit by the credit crunch.

“Well, I think January’s always a tough (month), you all know what’s going on in the world, and I don’t think football’s any different,” Daish told www.kentishfootball.co.uk on Tuesday night.

“I think everything’s going to take a little bit of a hit, (but) we’ve got a bit of prize money (£6,000) today, so I suppose that’ll offset what we’ve lost in gate, so it’s fully understandable.

“We’re grateful to who turns up and those who don’t turn up, I’m sure they’ve got their reasons. I understand that.

“We haven’t been playing very well to be fair so I can understand them sitting at home.”

The Fleet, without a win in their last five Blue Square Premier games, are only four points clear of the relegation zone.

Rushden & Diamonds visit Stonebridge Road on Saturday and Daish is desperate to end their miserable run.

“That will be a tough game for us,” he warned. “They’ve got a bit of pace; they are strong boys; organised at the back.

“We’ve got to stand up to them, we can’t play around the edges against Rushden.

“At 1-0 down (in the FA Trophy tie), we showed a little bit of determination; a bit of guts and a bit of character and we’ve got to take that into Saturday and build on that.”

Daish revealed he is expected to delve into the transfer market, having met club bosses on Monday.

“I was told to hold fire for a little bit last week, but after a meeting (on Monday) I was told to go out and get some quality.

“We’re going to chase them up now and hopefully get a few players in and keep strengthening the squad because we need to.

“We’ve got to get our form back and get strength in every position.”

Daish added that Karl Murray’s loan spell has ended and that he has returned to Blue Square South club Bromley.

He said: “If we had won our last six games in the league, maybe I would’ve kept Karl but we hadn’t.”

Visit Ebbsfleet United’s website: www.ebbsfleetunited.co.uk

Ebbsfleet United v Rushden & Diamonds
Blue Square Premier
Saturday 17^th January 2009
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Stonebridge Road, Northfleet, Kent DA11 9GN