Hollands & Blair boss Bryan Greenfield: The club means a lot to me and has given me some of my best days in football

HOLLANDS & BLAIR’S newly-appointed manager Bryan Greenfield says his side will cause a few shocks again this season.

The Gillingham-based club fought tooth and nail for the Southern Counties East Football League title in their debut season but Greenwich Borough claimed the crown by 12 points with Blair finishing runners-up.

Greenfield was playing at left-back during the final season under Paul Piggott’s reign at Darland Avenue, admitting their goal-less draw at home to Gary Alexander’s side on 26 March, proved to be costly.

“Mixed emotions about last year really,” said Greenfield.

“On one hand no one gave us a chance and many tipped us to be relegated not knowing anything about the club before making those predictions.

“On the other hand when you’ve put yourself in such a good position to win it, you have to be disappointed that we’ve not gone on and won it.

“Fair play to Gary and his team, they kept at it and he made some good additions to shore them up defensively and ultimately that was the difference.  They got tighter at the back and went on a run although things might have been different if we had picked up the win against them towards the end of the season.”

Greenwich Borough host League One side Millwall on Friday night before arriving at Darland Avenue on Sunday to contest the Southern Counties East Football League Roy Vinter Challenge Shield.

Greenwich Borough travel to Dorking Wanderers on the opening day of the Ryman League Division One South season on 13 August, while Hollands & Blair start their campaign a week earlier in The FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round at Horsham YMCA.

“It’s obviously going to be a tough game against a very good Greenwich Borough team that have made some very good additions in the summer and they will be looking to make a statement in the Ryman South this season and have to be one of the favourites to win it,” said Greenfield.

Reflecting on his side’s pre-season preparations, Greenfield said: “To be honest we’ve had a mixed bag of performances pre-season. Like every other team at this time of the year you have people come along that want to play for you and you’ve got to give them game time to see if they are good enough and you might just unearth a good player or two if you’re lucky.

“I’d say in the four friendlies that we’ve had so far we’ve probably only really played to the level that we can in about three halves of those four games.  Although that’s disappointing, it is pre-season and we’ve mixed it up quite a bit.

“We have narrowed that squad down now to more of the core that we want to take into the season with us, so I’ll be looking for them to start performing better from tonight onwards.”

When asked about how his squad is shaping up going into the first competitive game of the season, Greenfield replied: “With regards to the players that have left, I don’t want to dwell on it. It was always going to happen to a club like Blair with no budget and being one of the better teams in the league. That’s in the past now and we move on.

“With regards to the new signings, we’ve brought in Ben Brown, who has previously been at the club and is a very capable centre half at this level.  Thomas Staff has returned to the team after a year out and we’ve given some chances to the younger players coming through at the club and to be honest I’ve been very impressed with them.

“The future of this club is the youth and if they are good enough they will play.”

Greenfield admits he has big shoes to fill as Piggott was the most successful manager in the club’s history.

“Obviously it’s a daunting prospect taking over from Paul after all the years of success that we’ve had at the club but it’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to and it will test me as a person and a character.

“The club means a lot to me and has given me some of my best days in football. It’s been a successful club for a good few years’ now and I don’t expect that mentality to change within the club.

“The players that we’ve got here will always work hard and that can’t be brought with any amount of money. We’ll upset a few teams again this season, I don’t have any doubt about that!”

Visit Hollands & Blair’s website: www.hollandsandblair.co.uk

Hollands & Blair  v  Greenwich Borough
Southern Counties East Football League Roy Vinter Challenge Shield
Sunday 31^st July 2016
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Star Meadow, Darland Avenue, Gillingham, Kent ME7 3AN