Munday tells his struggling players to stand up and be counted

Monday 26th October 2009

STRUGGLING Whitstable Town manager Mark Munday says his side must stand up and be counted when they lock horns with fellow strugglers Whyteleafe at Belmont Road tomorrow, writes Stephen McCartney.

A run of seven straight defeats has seen the friendly club slump to the foot of the Ryman League Division One South table - and Munday, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk today, insists the run has to stop!

Saturday’s abject performance during their 5-0 defeat at Worthing proved to be the final straw for angry Munday, who locked in his beleaguered squad in the dressing room for nearly 30 minutes following their Sussex shocker.

Munday, in his first season as a manager fumed, “I said to the chaps on Saturday after what was a totally inept second half performance, the responsibility is now firmly on their shoulders. The responsibility to get results and the responsibility to play for 90 plus minutes now falls on them.

“For ten or eleven games, me and Paul (Lamb, my assistant) have sheltered them and said let’s get our performances right, lets get you learning and the results will follow, but now the onus has been put on them.

“The next three or four games we’re playing sides who we possibly can get results off. We need to be moving in the right direction.”

The first 10 games has been a culture shock for the Belmont faithful and Munday has threatened his beleaguered side the axe if they don’t pick up three points against Whyteleafe tomorrow night.

“If players aren’t doing what you’re asking them to do you will never win football matches,” he said.

“They’ve got to start believing or they will start watching games from the bench or not being involved, because it’s come to that stage now where we need to get a few more players with experience to put the pressure of the four, five, six players who are capable of playing at this level.

“We maybe have, maybe, three, four, five players who I’d like to rest, maybe not play week in week out, as we have no other option (they play).”

He added, “As you know, it’s not all about ability, it’s about doing the nitty gritty of football, which is when you haven’t got the ball, when you’re away from home at places like Worthing, then you shut up shop - you put your foot on it and you put yourselves in a position where the man that you’re up against you make it hard for him to create chances or to come in a dangerous position.

“People talk about formations, at the end of the day, formations and tactics don’t win football matches, players do.”

Munday is actively seeking experienced players who have the know-how to compete in this physically tough division.

“I’ve put some seven-day approaches in for players and that was being done in the middle of last week, so that’s not just on the back off the Worthing result,” revealed Munday.

“Sometimes when you have a result like that, and some inept performances, it seals your intensions of giving them a rest of half a dozen games watching and not being at the sharp end.

“We will get people in who are experienced enough and have played at this level for a good few years and sometimes they may not have the ability that they’re replacing, but know what they’re doing every minute of the game.

“In this league if you’re organised and strong and you do important jobs when you haven’t got the ball, that’s when you start winning the games.

“I was very, very angry Saturday and justifiably so. We’ve sheltered all the players about the pressure of getting results but now it’s time for a few of them to stand up and be counted and not shy away from it and prove to us that they are worthy of playing first team football, not only for Whitstable but Ryman League football.”

Surrey side Whyteleafe, who lost 1-0 at home to league leaders Folkestone Invicta at the weekend, arrive in Whitstable in the bottom seven.

And Folkestone manager, Neil Cugley, has offered his former midfielder, Munday, some useful tips on the Leafe.

“We’ve done our homework on them and I’ve spoken to Neil Cugley this morning and he’s given me every bit of information he could and wished us all the best,” said the thankful Whitstable manager.

“ All the managers talk to each other and in this neck of the woods we don’t want any of us struggling and looking over our shoulder.

“Neil has been very helpful and given me some tips on them from Saturday and told me what to look out for, the system they’re playing but that goes by the wayside if we turn up and put in an inept performance.”

Meanwhile, Sam Denly and Gary Sayer have both been ruled out through hamstring injuries.

www.kentishfootball.co.uk will be covering this game, with Mike Green reporting.

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

Whitstable Town v Whyteleafe

Ryman League Division One South

Tuesday 27th October 2009

Kick Off 7:45pm

At The Belmont, Belmont Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1QJ