I know the players I've got here will get us out of the mess, vows Whitstable Town boss Peter Nott

WHITSTABLE TOWN boss Peter Nott says he is expecting a tough game at basement side Crawley Down next Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.



The Oystermen have failed to pick up any prize money from The Football Association after they were knocked out of both The FA Cup and The FA Carlsberg Trophy at the first attempt.

Whitstable put in a spirited display at Ryman League Division One North side Thamesmead Town yesterday, going out of The FA Trophy at the preliminary round stage 3-2, courtesy of goals from skipper Peter Hawkins and James Simmons.

Attention now turns to their trip to Crawley Down, who have struggled to cope with Ryman League Division One South football after their promotion from the Sussex County League.

They have picked up just one win from their opening ten league outings and Whitstable presently lie in seventeenth place with only three wins to their name.

“That’s not an easy game, they’ve signed seven players last week and (former Horsham manager) John Maggs has gone there,” said Nott.

“With the greatest respect, John Maggs wouldn’t take that over unless there was a budget available to get them out of the position that he’s in.

“He used to work in the Ryman Premier, he’s from that neck of the woods and he’ll get  players’ playing for him.

“It’s a tough game.  I think it’s one of those teams you’d like to play at the start of the season rather than now.  They will grind results out.  I spoke to (Faversham Town manager) Ray Turner during the week and he’s convinced there’s no way Crawley Down will go down.  He thinks they’re a well organised team and we know we have to go there and fight and get whatever we can.”

Nott spoke to Turner as James Peacock has left Whitstable and has signed for neighbouring Faversham and Ryan Benniman is expected to sign for Chatham Town, following a seven-day approach from Chats boss Kevin Watson.

“I’ve known PK (Peacock) for a long time and I think it’s best for both parties that we move on,” explained Nott, who also guided him through the ranks at Maidstone United.

“He’s a great lad and he’ll do very well at Faversham.  You get to the stage where you shake eachothers hand and move on in different directions.

“I’ve managed him for eight years now.  I think he needs to experience different managerial styles.  He’ll do well.  I’ve got no issues about that.  I’m good friends with him and I wish him all the best.”

Saturday’s game away to Crawley Down can be classed as a “six-pointer”, even at this early stage of the season as these are the games that Whitstable Town must win if they are to remain in the Ryman League.

Whitstable have a record of picking up most of their points after Christmas ever since clinching promotion into the Ryman League in 2007.

Nott said: “I can only talk since I’ve been here and I think we’ve been hampered by injuries this year.

“We know that there’s some big budgets in this league and we have to work extra hard because we haven’t got the luxury of signing players on decent money.  Everyone that’s down here is down here for the right reason.

“I’m confident we’ll be alright, we need to change it around very, very quickly.  We’re aware of that, we’re aware of the pressure of not doing well.  It’s not a pleasant environment to work in but we just try to keep as much of that out of the dressing room as we can.  We’ve got big shoulders, we can take that.  If we felt we wasn’t good enough to do it then we’ll stick our hands up but we’re miles away from that.

“I know the group of players I’ve got here will get us out of the mess and it will be nice to get a few of them back on the pitch.”

When asked how many points Whitstable Town need to maintain their status, Nott replied, “I always know what points you need, you need mid 40’s to make sure you’re in this league but it’s too early to start predicting survival.

“In this league everyone does beat each other.  Two or three wins on the bounce, all of a sudden you’re out of the bottom half and then the picture looks a lot, lot different.

“You start looking at the league tables seriously after Christmas.”

Meanwhile, Ryman League secretary, Kellie Discipline, who attended her former club, Thamesmead Town’s FA Trophy win over Whitstable yesterday, confirmed that all Ryman League Cup ties prior to the final will be settled quicker than normal.

If scores are level after 90 minutes, then there will be no extra time, the game will go straight into a penalty shoot-out.

Visit Whitstable Town’s website: www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk  

Crawley Down  v  Whitstable Town
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 15^th October 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Haven Sportsfield (Haven Centre), Hophurst Lane, Crawley Down, West Sussex RH10 4LJ