My remit is only to keep Whitstable's Ryman League status, says Caretaker Lane

Sunday 28th March 2010

CARETAKER manager Mark Lane says his job is to keep Whitstable Town in the Ryman League, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Oystermen are just one place and point above the Ryman League Division One South relegation zone and will leapfrog over Ashford Town if they win at Homelands Stadium tomorrow night.

But it won’t be easy as Ashford have clawed themselves off the foot of the table in recent weeks, having picked up 11 points from the 21 available this month.

Whitstable have picked up only 6 points out of the 24 available to them this month.

Lane replaced Mark Munday and Paul Lamb, who both parted company with the Belmont Road club following the 2-0 home defeat to Horsham YMCA on 20th March.

Lane took caretaker charge on the eve of their morale boosting 1-0 home win over Ramsgate last week, but the honeymoon period ended with a 3-2 defeat at Merstham yesterday.

“It was just one of those games where you look on paper, maybe we can nick a point out of it, but we didn’t really play well in the first half,” a disappointed Lane told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“I think it was a bit of a hangover from Tuesday night.

“You take positives out of the game. We had a couple of chances in the second half to scrape a draw I suppose. We hit the bar twice, had a couple off the line. We went 4-3-3, we pressurised them but it wasn’t to be on the day.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take your medicine and move on.”

Lane, who has worked along with previous managers Matt Toms, Marc Seager and for 32 games this season, Mark Munday, knows exactly what his remit is for the remainder of this season.

“I think it was a shock to everybody to be fair,” Lane said of the departure of Munday and his assistant, Paul Lamb.

“The board had their reasons to decide what was going to happen. I have no axe to grind, I get on well with Mark Munday and Paul Lamb, who were in charge at the time.”

Lane revealed that he met with his 18-man squad last Thursday to get them to voice their frustrations and to see which players are up for the fight.

“I had a meeting on Thursday with all the players because I wanted them all to air their frustrations - if that’s the right word - and we decided we’re going to all move on - we have done to be particularly honest,” explained Lane.

“No-one likes to see anybody lose their job, I’ve got a hell of respect for Mark Munday and Paul Lamb, I learnt a lot from them.

“The players are very upbeat. They had their say. I don’t really want to say what happened in the meeting because the whole idea of having the meeting was to discuss things that I wanted them to bring out. All I can say was everyone was really positive. They’re all moving in the right direction.

“We’ve got a lot of local lads that play for Whitstable and they don’t want the club to go down. They’ve been there for a long time, that’s what we’re all fighting for. We’re fighting for the common cause - we’re just trying to keep the club in the Ryman League.

“My remit is only to keep the club in the Ryman League. I’ve made it quite clear that I’m not looking to get into management at this present time. I would never say never but the main thing is to try and get the club out of this predicament that they’re in.

“I think the official term is caretaker manager - so I’ve got my broom and (then) I’m off! I’m happy with the situation. I don’t think you can look any further forward than that.”

Lane knows the importance off winning at Ashford Town on Monday night.

“I think it’s a massive game for both clubs,” he said. “Ashford have picked up a couple of points in the week. They’ve got a good result against Godalming yesterday and that’s not an easy place to go to.

“In terms of Kent, we don’t want either of us going out of the Ryman League. I know Steve (Lovell) has the same opinion, I would suggest he’s fighting tooth and nail to keep his club in the Ryman as I am.

“It’s a local derby and I’m not sure how much football is going to be played. It may be the team that doesn’t freeze on the night that wins and takes the points.

Lane is without a couple of his players tomorrow, including former Ashford midfielder Joe Hitchings.

“Joe Hitchings is struggling with a knee injury and I’ve got Dave Cory, who has had a hamstring for the last seven days,” said Lane.

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

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

Ashford Town v Whitstable Town

Ryman League Division One South

Monday 28th March 2010

Kick Off 7:45pm

At Homelands Stadium, Ashford Road, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent TN26 1NJ