Miles demands more consistency - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Chatham Town manager Phil Miles is looking for more consistency from his side in a bid to climb the Ryman League Division One South table, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Medway side are currently in the bottom eight, having picked up two wins and four draws from their first 12 league outings, and welcome a Metropolitan Police side to Maidstone Road tomorrow that are four places lower.

Miles reflected on the past seven days, which has seen his side lose 3-1 at home to local rivals Sittingbourne, and then put on a much better display at Dulwich Hamlet in midweek, where the Londoners scored the only goal of the game to hit top spot.

“You have got all the cliché’s under the sun, a roller coaster ride, Jackal and Hyde performances,” Miles said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“I was disappointed with everyone Saturday but delighted with everyone Tuesday - it’s been mixed.

“I don’t like losing. I was upset on Tuesday but we lost with some pride, passion and dignity, everything was there that wasn’t on Saturday.

“My learning curve as a manager has been tested this week, I must admit.

“Once we become more consistent, once we start believing in ourselves a little bit more and get that coming together, week-in, week-out. I’ve got a good little side there.

“With the resources that we’ve got we’re doing very well, albeit one defeat from the bottom two.”

“We will get through this season and people can judge me at the end of the season and hopefully I have established Chatham as a Ryman League side, which is a very tough league at the moment.”

But with the club averaging 319 from their first six league games of the season, Miles doesn’t have a budget like some of his rivals.

He described the situation at the Maidstone Road club, saying: “We’re in more of a dingy, we haven’t even got a boat.

“If Maidstone are losing players then we are still sitting in a dingy with no paddles. We are just floating to be fair.

“But the competition in this league with Dartford have been able to attract players from Maidstone, who I believe have got a great budget, then the likes of us, Godalming and Horsham YMCA are in there to do the best they can.

“There is some money being banded about, but you need a good benefactor to keep you going.”

Miles, however, feels a visit from the Metropolitan Police tomorrow, is the last thing that he wants.

“It will be a very tough game,” he said. “I think their position is deceptive at the moment because they’ve got games in hand.

“If they win those games they will be in the top six, which they will be looking for at the end of the season.

“They were a strong side last year and I expect them to be tough.”

Chatham will be without full-back Tom Binks, whose away on a business trip to India for two weeks, and central defender Rob Goodger will be out of action for a week with a thigh strain.

Visit Chatham Town's website:  www.chathamtownfc.net