I hope we can just stay up and then regroup for next season, says Punjab United boss Jugjit Sian

PUNJAB UNITED manager Jugjit Sian admits he is to blame for a season of struggle in their first season in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division.

Punjab United, K Sports and Fisher all sealed promotion from the First Division last season, with Fisher leading the way in the Premier Division and K Sports sitting in tenth-place, while Punjab sit in the bottom four.

Sian’s men have collected 20 points from their 27 league outings and are 14 points clear of the relegation zone, which is occupied by Croydon and Rusthall.

After thrashing bottom-of-the-table Rusthall 5-1 at home on 5 February, Sian’s men have suffered back-to-back defeats to Fisher (4-1) and Erith Town (2-1).

Sian said: “We have been so inconsistent and that’s why we are where we are in the league, we just haven’t been good enough!

“On Tuesday night we played well but conceded a sloppy goal when we were on top against Erith.

“We should have been a few goals up but we ended up losing the game 2-1, but that’s life in this division.”

Sian demands a reaction from his side at Chatham Town tomorrow.

James Collins’ side are in fifth-place in the table – 10 points adrift of leaders Fisher but with four games in hand.

“I blame myself for our league position. I knew in the summer I needed a few players to boost the squad but I left it too late and I feel those couple of players would’ve made a big impact,” said Sian.

“I have managed to bring back William Johnson-Cole (from Sevenoaks Town) last week and he knows the club and what we want to achieve.

“I’m looking for a response against Chatham. We know on our day we can beat anyone in this division but the boys need to stick together, play our football and work hard and we will get through this rough patch.

“It’s a massive learning curve for us all, especially for me. It’s a testing time as no one likes losing but we must also accept we just haven’t performed this season.

“I hope we can just stay up and then regroup for next season.”

Chatham Town booked their place in the Kent Senior Trophy Final after beating their local rivals Hollands & Blair 2-0 last weekend.

They will meet Beckenham Town or Jersey boys St Peter in the Final in Maidstone on Sunday 14 April.  Those two will meet at Eden Park Avenue on Tuesday 26 February.

Chatham Town  v  Punjab United
Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division
Saturday 16 February 2019
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Maidstone Road, Bournville Avenue, Chatham, Kent ME4 6LR