Our aspirations are to obviously win the league, says Ramsgate boss Jim Ward

RAMSGATE boss Jim Ward says he wants his players to treat their friendly at Ashford United like a league game, writes Stephen McCartney.


The Rams pre-season form has been inconsistent.  They have won their last three games, at home to Haart of Kent County Division Two East neighbours Broadstairs by three-goals-to-one, and stepped that up with wins over two Ryman League Division One North sides, Thamesmead Town (6-3) and Grays Athletic (2-1).

They have lost to Gillingham (0-1) and Kent League side Erith & Belvedere (2-4) on home soil, and drawn games against Hertford Town and Lordswood, but Ward wants his side to up the stakes at Homelands Stadium tomorrow against Kent Invicta League side Ashford United.

“The last three games, we’ve obviously won the last three, but on the face of it, it’s looking good, but I’ve not won anything in pre-season apart from the Charity Shield and that so it’s always trying to get a balance,” said Ward.

“If I was having a Cup final tomorrow, I could pick nine players.  I’ve got about fifteen players who are fighting for two jersey’s.  We’re quietly confident with what we’ve got.”

When asked how he is treating tomorrow’s game against an Ashford United side that are preparing for life in the Kent Invicta League, Ward said: “We’ve played two teams from the Ryman North, Grays and Thamesmead and we’ve played the game, in spells, at a really high tempo.  Now, what we’re looking to do is keep the momentum going, not so much the results, but the tempo of the game.

“The players’ will be encouraged to do that tomorrow, regardless of who we’re playing against.  We must keep this momentum going.”

Ramsgate kick-off their Ryman League Division One South campaign with a home game against newly promoted side Crawley Down on Saturday, 20 August.

Ward said: “It’s not far off now, it’s two weeks tomorrow, the first league game.  I’ve only got two friendlies pencilled in.  I think we’re going to have another one Tuesday night, I don’t know who we’re going to play yet.  It might be possibles against probables like we do every year.

“We’ve got so many players here, nobody wants to leave.  They’re all good boys.  It always irons itself out always, so we’ll see.

“How many players? I’ve just counted them, twenty-seven.  I’ve sent one out on loan, George Amber has gone to Deal for a couple of games for them to see how he gets on down there and we’ll be having it (the squad) sorted out Saturday and Tuesday to see what’s what.”

When asked about his aspirations for the new season, the Scot said: “Without a doubt, to be successful!  We’ve got a very difficult draw in the FA Cup, away to Whitehawk.  It’s trying to get the chairman a few bob to have a good run in the FA Cup and the FA Trophy.

“Our aspirations are to obviously win the league, if not to try and get into the play-off’s.  Let’s get August and September out of the way first and see where we stand then!

“At the end of the day, it’s about your league placing, what will determine what kind of season you’ve had.”

Paul Chambers, meanwhile, admitted it was probably a game too far for his Ashford United side after they succumbed to defeat to Hythe Town.

Gary Lockyer bagged a late penalty but it was a mere consolation as Hythe ran out 4-1 winners.

Joint-manager Chambers told www.ashfordunited.co.uk: “Hythe are a good side. They’re big and strong and the league difference was clear for all to see.

“They were physically stronger and it was hard for our guys playing two games in three days.

“They’d given a lot in the draw with Tonbridge Angels and to have a game so soon after that one was a tough ask.

“It might serve to nudge a few of them as they might have thought that things were easy after such a good start to pre-season.

“We’ve been flying and we’ve made a great start. Hopefully we can resume that against Ramsgate on Saturday.”

 There were positives to take out of Tuesday’s loss, though.

Chambers explained: “I spoke to (Hythe Town manager) Scott Porter after the game and he’s said he’ll help us out with players if we need them over the season and if they’re available which is great for us.

“We’ve got a lad from Hythe coming down to train and a few others too.

“Quite a few of the players have signed up for next year and we’re trying to get a few more sorted as we go on.

“Gary Lockyer’s committed himself to us for the season which is great news as he’s getting fitter and stronger with every game.”

Former Charlton Athletic trainee Paul Burt – who netted the club’s first goals since its rebirth – has opted to stay with Haart Of Kent County Premier Division side Bromley Green.

Visit Ramsgate’s website: www.ramsgate-fc.co.uk  

Additional reporting courtesy of Jack Wilson – www.ashfordunited.co.uk

Ashford United  v  Ramsgate
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 6^th August 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Homelands Stadium, Ashford Road, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent TN26 1NJ