Kentish Football 
It's a football club that gets its hands dirty to make sure we survive, says Thamesmead Town boss
Thursday 31st March 2011
THAMESMEAD TOWN boss Keith McMahon cannot hide his disappointment after his side went down with the Christmas decorations, writes Stephen McCartney.
The Bayliss Avenue outfit were sitting in second place in the Ryman League Division One North table at Christmas - but they have only picked up a win and two draws from eleven league games since the turn of the New Year and travel to Cheshunt in fifteenth place.
Cheshunt presently sit two places lower than the Mead, and McMahon said, “I’m expecting three points on Saturday, especially with the way we’ve been playing in the last three games.
“But when you’re struggling, thing’s don’t go your way.
“I’m expecting three points on Saturday, if we play like we do. I think we’ll get ten points out of the eighteen, maybe more.”
McMahon reflected on his side’s campaign since Christmas.
“When you’re second at Christmas, of course you are disappointed, but a few players, I think, if I’m honest, have maybe taken it for granted a little bit and not had the same snap and buzz that they had at the beginning of the season.
“We’ve had lots of injuries, but I’m not making that excuse because everyone else has that.
“The first few games of the run was a bit of bad luck. We couldn’t get out of a rut but I’m pleased now that we are showing a bit of fight and we’re showing that we can play and hold our own at this level.
“We play really well against the good sides and take the lesser sides for granted, but you’re going to be disappointed sitting there healthy at Christmas and where we are now, but overall things are starting to look bright for us with the development starting again. Hopefully it will be a positive end of the season for us.”
A dip in form may prompt the club to change it’s manager for next season, but McMahon revealed everyone at the club is happy with him staying on.
“The club want me to. I won’t lie. They want me to be the manager and let’s see what happens at the end of the year.
“If they want me and things are positive for the football club, everyone knows I’m ambitious and wants to move on as a manager and go higher. I think this football club can do that if the football club is allowed to do that - not want to because they do - but if there is a future for the football club to push on and I think it’s right and they still want me, I’ll stay.”
Thamesmead missed out on a lucrative trip to Blue Square Premier giants AFC Wimbledon in the semi-finals of the London Senior Cup, after they were knocked out by Hendon on Wednesday night.
The Ryman Premier League side sealed their passage thanks to two first half goals, but only 42 people came through the turnstiles at Bayliss Avenue.
Thamesmead largest crowd of the season was against AFC Sudbury when 92 watched the game, but the club are joint-bottom in the attendance figures with average gates of just 56.
“We’re not the only club with low gates,” said McMahon.
When asked how the club can survive in the Ryman League, McMahon, who also runs the club bar and is club treasurer, replied, “A lot of us have got to do a lot of hard work. It’s as simple as that.
“The chairman (Mark Lee) does more than what a chairman should do. The manager does more than what the manager should do. The president (Albert Panting) does more. It’s a football club, as small as we are, that gets their hands dirty.
“This is our third season in the Ryman League and we’re still here in really tough conditions.
“It’s a great club to be involved in - if you love it.
“It will be an absolutely awful job for a new manager to come and do. I don’t think many would do it here because of the financial reasons. Once you’re here the club gets hold of you and it’s a bug, so hopefully with the new development, who would come here at the moment.
“We’ve had a lot of positive signs. When the development is here people would want to come here. It’s going to be a completely different set-up once it’s all done and it will be lovely and lush and new and it will be a nice place to come.
“Hopefully people will want to bring their families as well and enjoy the other facilities that are here.
“In a year’s time we’ll be sitting here, who wouldn’t want to come here?
“There’s a lot of positives. They just have to hurry up and start and then we’ll be happy.”
Visit Thamesmead Town’s website: www.thamesmeadtownfc.co.uk
Cheshunt v Thamesmead Town
Ryman League Division One North
Saturday 2nd April 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Cheshunt Stadium, Theobalds Lane, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN8 8RU
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd