No doubt the fans want to beat Herne Bay, says Whitstable Town boss Jim Ward

The Oystermen opened their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 home defeat to Conference South side Whitehawk on Saturday.

“Well, they had most of their faces playing and believe me they’ll be a force next year they will,” said Ward.

“They had Lance Cronin in goal, they had Paul Lorraine at centre half. All over the park they had names and they were all there to impress (their manager) Steve King. It wasn’t a run-out for them, it was a trial like.

“Our boys done no more, no less than what I expected out of them. We made it tough for them.

“There’s no doubt they were better than us, they’re entitled to be.

“We haven’t kicked a ball in earnest at all. We kicked the ball for ten minutes on the training pitch on Thursday night but we haven’t had the goals up. We haven’t been on the pitch – we’ve done nothing!

“We haven’t done set-pieces. Our players are all brand new to each other and I gave the kids a go.  Me and Danny, we were pleased with it.”

The Ward brothers take their side to bitter rivals to Herne Bay on Tuesday night to contest the Bruce Smith Shield.

Jim said: “We’ve got 24 players in tomorrow night. We’ll probably have two halves then see. We’ve got another four friendlies left after tomorrow night.

“We’ll go there, we’ll give everyone sort of a game, a lot will get an hour.

“It’s a bit suck it and see tomorrow night. No doubt the fans will want to beat Herne Bay and win the trophy that’s on show but at the end of the day it’s all about 9^th of August.”

The Ryman League's fixtures are due to be published on Friday.

When asked about the wait, Ward replied: “I don’t know, I’ve been busy all day.  I’ve been told 19^th July, but it don’t worry me. As long as I’ve got a couple of weeks’ notice, as long as we get the travel plans done in time. It’s not something that I worry about too much.”

Nicky Southall’s Whitstable Town finished in the bottom five last season and Ward wants to become the club’s most successful manager in their Ryman League history.

“They’ve been in the Ryman South for seven years and the best they’ve done is fourteenth and last year I believe they came 20^th,” said Ward.

“First and foremost we’ve got to get the ball rolling. We have to get points on board.

“All the supporters shook my hand on Saturday and said ‘that’s great – it’s what they want to see, proper football.”

“Some of it was longish, most was on the floor. We created a few chances, should have had a penalty. It was an exciting game to watch for a friendly – it wasn’t boring!

“The fans were happy with it and that’s the main thing. We have to get the fans back with a smile on their face.”

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