If players aren't at training then they won't play, warns Milton & Fulston boss Aaron Perry

Aaron Perry says he is bringing a professional approach to Milton & Fulston United.



Perry, who turns 29 on Friday, has previously coached at Margate, Ramsgate and Sittingbourne, and has taken over as the manager of the Sittingbourne based club and says things will be done right at the Haart of Kent County League Division One outfit after they finished third-from-bottom last term.

Perry’s side caused a shock in pre-season when they came away from Ryman League Division One South side Sittingbourne with a famous 3-0 victory at Bourne Park.

When asked about pre-season, Perry said: “It’s been really good.  Obviously since we played Sittingbourne we’ve lost a few players because of such a good result, which was expected.

“We’ve moved on from there. The boys have been training hard. We’ve had 30-40 players to look at, which has been nice.”

Milton & Fulston United welcome tough-boys Swale United to UK Paper in Sittingbourne on Saturday for their final pre-season friendly.

“Every game’s tough at the moment, this will be no different,” anticipated Perry.

“It’s a bit of a local derby in a way and they will want to prove themselves and my boys will want to be in the team the following week against Bexlians so they will want to get a shirt.”

Perry says he cannot wait for their opening game – at home to promoted side Bexlians on 25 August.

“The first game of the season is massive,” said Perry.

“History tells me that Milton haven’t won the first game for three or four seasons.

“Our preparations are well underway for next Saturday’s game, meeting times, places.

“As I’ve said before, I’m taking this league seriously. It doesn’t matter what level we’re at now. We’re taking it as a higher league. Preparation will be spot on and by three o’clock comes my team is ready to play and get the result.”

Perry says he will bring a professionalism into the club – and he expects his players to turn up to training and matches.

“A few people have said we’re a little bit professional at this level.  It’s important we do things right. 

“If players aren’t at training then they won’t play.

“I feel the club is moving in the right direction.  I’ve had a great support from the chairman. It’s up for me to put things in place to make sure we’re professional in this league.

“As for this league standard wise, I don’t know. It’s a tough one. They’ll be some good teams and they’ll be bad teams and we have to make sure we’re above that and better than every team in the league.”

Looking ahead to their opening game, Perry has done his homework on Bexlians.

“We’ve watched them once already, against Eltham Palace in pre-season and they’re ok to be fair to them.  They’ll be organised.

“There’s a bit of banter between the two clubs on Twitter regarding the game.  It will be a good game. They’ll know everything about us by doing their homework.

“My main focus is on us. We want teams to worry about us. We’ll give them and all teams in the league respect. They’ve come up from the league below last year.

“I can’t wait! I feel I’ve been here months and we haven’t kicked the ball. Everyone’s been buzzing since the Sittingbourne game and we’ve had some good press.

“Saturday’s game can’t come quick enough.  We’re ready to go now. It’s a shame we can’t go this Saturday.  We can’t wait for the 25^th August.”

When asked what his aspirations are for the season, Perry replied, “As a club we’re looking to be in the top six at Christmas and then kick on.  I’ll be disappointed if we’re not in the top six at Christmas and push on from there.

“We’ve got to make sure we don’t get caught up by bad pitches.  We’re going to play good football so we have to make sure we can play on any pitch. Top six at Christmas and finish the job off from there.”

Perry has unveiled his management team – who both have experience at a much higher level of football.

Pat Mullin, who played in goal for Maidstone United and Sittingbourne, has been appointed assistant manager, while former Sittingbourne player Grant Duff comes in as assistant manager/coach.

“Pat can bring experience and the same with Grant. They’ve both played in the Ryman. Pat has won leagues and everything else. They’re key appointments to what we want to achieve.

“We hope to confirm our squad on Thursday night.”

A couple of players that have already signed are former Harlow Town reserve team goalkeeper Luke Smith, 20 and former Margate and Ramsgate striker Karl Barron, 24.

Perry revealed:  “We’ve got some boys out of the Ryman.  We’ve signed one from Harlow Town.  Luke Smith is a keeper.  He was on the fringes at Harlow. He was a major part of the reserves but for us it’s a massive signing and we’re delighted that we’ve got him.

“Karl has been doing alright. He’s scored a couple in pre-season and we’re delighted. We’ve shuffled him around the pitch and he’s been good. As a striker, I can’t ask for any more than that to be fair.”

Visit Milton & Fulston’s website: www.clubwebsite.co.uk/miltonfulstonutdfc