Kentish Football 
Nick Barnes is the great bit for the jigsaw to get our promotion push back on track, says Porter
Friday 31st December 2010
HYTHE TOWN boss Scot Porter has signalled his ambitions of winning the Kent League title in four months time by splashing the cash to bring central midfielder Nick Barnes, 28, to Reachfields Stadium, writes Stephen McCartney.
Barnes has put pen to paper for Hythe following his release from Ryman Premier League side Hastings United.
He made 11 appearances, featuring in various positions, during his three-month stay at The Pilot Field.
Barnes needs no introduction to fans of Kent football, having played for the likes of Tonbridge Angels, Maidstone United, Dartford, Ashford Town and Margate, before defecting to play for Concord Rangers and East Thurrock before he signed for Ryman League Division One South side Walton & Hersham at the start of this season.
But he teamed up with his former manager at Tonbridge, Tony Dolby, at Hastings, but opted to leave the club, along with a handful of other players, when Dolby stepped down earlier in the month.
Porter, who was speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk on New Year’s Eve, revealed he acted following his side’s “embarrassing” 4-3 defeat to lowly Lordswood in the fog last Tuesday.
“Like I said to you after the Lordswood game, I needed to strengthen the squad,” said the 31-year-old.
“I’ve had the money there from the chairman since the FA Cup game but I didn’t think I needed to change it but after watching a defeat like that I had to go and obviously sort something out so we got in touch with him when he left Hastings. He’s a close friend of (Brendon) Cass and it’s come together.
“He’s a sort of player we’ve wanted for ages, he puts his head in where it hurts, he’s a winner, he’s a leader and he just wants to win things. His experience should tell and we’re delighted to have him on board.”
Porter revealed that the loot collected from the club’s seven-match FA Cup run, which ended in the First Round at League Two side Hereford United, will enable him to keep his entire squad.
He said: “A couple will go back into the reserves to get fitness because they’ve been on the bench a little while so I will shuffle it around. People will go into the reserves for a couple of games to get their confidence back.
“No-one’s gone out of the door - yet - but they will have to play a bit of reserve football and see what happens in the future.”
He added: “There’s always room to improve after what I saw. I would like to maybe bring in another striker. I don’t know yet!
“He’s a good signing, he goes straight into the team for Monday. We’re training on Sunday morning. It’s a great capture; he’s got a great attitude; a winning attitude; he talks a lot on the field and he’s got a vast amount of experience and hopefully he’ll be the great bit for the jigsaw to get our promotion push back on track after the Lordwood defeat.
“It shows that I’m not messing round! I’m not going to sit there and looking at those sort of performances without reacting and I’ve reacted in the right way. I said to you on Tuesday I was going to bring in a player and I’ve brought in a player quicker than I thought so I’m delighted to have Nick on board.”
Porter takes his side to Holmesdale on Bank Holiday Monday looking to bounce back from their shambolic performance against Jason Lillis’ side.
Hythe remain in fourth place in the Kent League table - four points behind leaders Herne Bay but with two games in hand - although the Bromley based side have Corinthian, Erith & Belvedere and Sporting Bengal below them in the table.
“It’s a tough place to go, it always has been for us,” warned Porter.
“You get them in our faces to try and stop us playing. They’ve had a couple of good results lately so it will be another tough game, but they’re all tough games in the Kent League, that’s why it’s a hard league to get out off!
“I want a reaction from my players! With Dave Cook coming back in (following suspension) and Nick Barnes I’m sure it will bring a little bit of spark to the team and hopefully we can get our title push back on track.”
Porter will ensure his side will not under-estimate Gary Davies’ side, like they did against Lordswood earlier in the week.
“It annoyed me, it was embarrassing for me to stand there and watch my players do that,” said Porter.
“You saw for yourself against Staines (in the FA Cup) and even against Concord (in the previous round) we tore these teams apart so it’s frustrating as I know what my lads can do and they did let everyone down but we’ve got to move on from that now. That’s gone out of the window and we’ve got to start afresh and we’ve started afresh by signing Nick and we’ve got the game on Monday.
“Maybe they did underestimate Lordswood, but it wasn’t in my eyes. I didn’t do my team talk that way. I express every time about playing certain teams and what they’re going to do and how they will upset us and I can only say my bit in the changing room but when they cross that white line it’s down to them. Maybe in their own personal minds they did but definitely not in the way I prepared for the game with my team talks.”
Speaking about the title race, Porter said: “We’ll clear the air at training on Sunday and we’ll be ready to make another charge for the title on Monday.
“No-one’s actually pulling away, we had a chance to close the gap and we didn’t. It is very tight and it will go down to the wire with four or five teams and I’m just hoping we’ll be one of them!”
Visit Hythe Town’s website: www.hythetownfc.co.uk
Holmesdale v Hythe Town
Safety Net Associates Kent League
Bank Holiday Monday, 3rd January 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
At 68 Oakley Road, Bromley, Kent BR2 8HQ
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd