I know it will be really tough - it always is at Ramsgate, says Sittingbourne boss Nick Davis

SITTINGBOURNE joint player-manager Nick Davis says he is looking forward to returning to one of his former clubs on Saturday.

The Brickies travel to Ramsgate sitting in the bottom seven in the Ryman League Division One South table, having collected 16 points from 14 games.

Ramsgate are in the top eight, having collected 23 points from 15 games.

Sittingbourne arrive at Southwood Stadium on the back of a 3-0 victory away to Crawley Down Gatwick at the weekend.

“It was a great result,” said central defender Davis.

“We knew they got hammered midweek against Worthing – losing 7-3 – but we was told it wasn’t really a fair reflection on the game.  They had a goalkeeper come in and he threw three or four goals in his own net.

“With them flying and with us being low down in the table and not winning away from home, we knew it was going to be tough, especially without Ryan Golding or Joe Taylor playing. They were serving one-match suspensions for five bookings each.”

The game marked the return of club stalwart Hicham Akhazzan, who scored, with Nick Treadwell grabbing a brace.

Davis said: “Hicham had a scare with his breathing and I spoke to Hicham and luckily he got the all clear from the doctor at the hospital and he had a couple of weeks out as a precaution.

“He’s fully fit and raring to go. He’s Mr Sittingbourne. He’s made 300 appearances now and he gives us that little bit of quality that we need in the final third and I’m pleased he’s back.”

Davis says he is relishing his return to Southwood Stadium to face Tim Dixon’s Rams.

“I know it will be really tough – it always is at Ramsgate,” he said.

“I was there a few years’ back so I know what to expect. It’s a lovely place, a lovely club and lovely people involved down there but on Saturday hopefully we’re going to pick up our second away win of the season and hopefully our second win on the trot.

“It will be a tough game. They’re quite an experienced side – that’s a rarity in non-league football, especially in this division at the moment. 

“They’ve got a lot of players who have played many games for them so they know how each other play. It will be very difficult but we’re full of confidence on the back of two wins.”

Davis added: “I’ve always quite enjoyed it when I’ve played against the likes of Maidstone, Ramsgate and Fisher.

“I’ve quite enjoyed it. You’re meeting up with familiar faces. It’s that added incentive because a few of our lads have played with Ramsgate with connections in the past so they feel they’ve got something to prove but it’s just another game.

“But these Kent derbies are always going to be tough regardless of the league position, where the team are really.”

Reflecting on the club’s league position, Davis, who guided the club to The FA Cup Third Qualifying Round when they went down to a 4-1 defeat away to Conference South club Staines Town, said; “It’s a funny one. It’s really tight. It’s exactly how it was last season. We win a couple of games and we find ourselves knocking just outside the play-offs but if we lose a couple we could be right amongst it (near the bottom) again.

“We’re seventh-from-bottom but we’ve got the fifth best defence in the league but we’re having trouble scoring goals.  We scored four at home to Herne Bay and it could have been more and we scored three away from home without any goalscorers. 

“If we can add that to our game, we’re relatively solid.  It’s much of a muchness.  Whoever turns up in this league on the day and certain decisions go your way you’d get the results.

“If we can string a few results together we can be in and amongst it – knocking around the play-offs.

“We’ve only played fourteen league games so we’ve still got another 32 to play so we’ve got loads of games to play.

“If you can’t get up for a Kent derby in a league game, regardless what time of the month of the year it is, you shouldn’t be playing at this level of football.”

Sittingbourne travel to second-placed Hastings United next Monday, 11 November.

“We’ve got Hastings on Monday so that won’t be a lovely journey down there if it’s cold, especially with their home record,” said Davis.

“We prefer to do that than train, put it that way.

“It’s going to be a very, very, very tough game. Their home record does speak for itself. A lot of sides are scoring a lot of goals at this level but are conceding a lot. They’re doing it the old fashioned way. They’re being very sold, conceding 12 in the league and (manager John Maggs) has got them well organised down there.

“They’ve got a lot of experience down there. They’ve got a couple of Maidstone boys and a couple of old Hastings lads who I used to play against.

“We know they’re going to be very well organised. It’s a tough place to go. Even midweek they’re getting gates of over 400. They’re a very big non-league club.

“We go there with nothing to lose and hope to pick up something away from home.”

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Ramsgate  v  Sittingbourne
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 9^th November 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Southwood Stadium, Prices Avenue, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 0AN