It may be a year too early for us, but we'll give it our best shot, says Sevenoaks Town boss Micky Collins

SEVENOAKS TOWN manager Micky Collins says he’s putting some building blocks down at the weekend to help with the club’s promotion bid.

Collins has put the Greatness Park outfit on the map in his third season in charge of the club.

The Oaks enjoyed their best ever run in The FA Cup when they reached the Second Qualifying Round and came within seconds of knocking out Evo-Stik Southern Premier League side Chesham United at Greatness Park, only for 44-year-old striker Barry Hayles to score a last-gasp equaliser in a heartbreaking 2-2 draw.

Sevenoaks Town then bravely went out 2-1 in the replay up in Buckinghamshire.

Collins has guided the club to fourth-place in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table with a playing record of 11 wins and three defeats in their 14 games.  They are four points adrift of leaders Ashford United, with a couple of games in hand.

Sevenoaks are without a game on Saturday and won’t train until next Wednesday ahead of their next game, at home to Deal Town on 3 December, but Collins revealed he will still have his players at Greatness Park on Saturday.

“We’ve got Saturday off and all the guys are coming down and doing a work party here which is brilliant because we need it for ground grading so we need to do some graft.  They all put their names down, which is fantastic.

“There’s a good bunch of lads here and they all believe in what we’re doing, which is great.

“We’ll prepare properly for Deal, come and work Saturday and do a bit around the ground and we’ll then train on Wednesday.

“We go Deal, Erith & Belvedere, Hollands & Blair and then Crowborough so four games before Christmas, four tough games but we’re just got to keep ticking them off.

“As I’ve said from the start, if we’re in the top four or five and nine points within it we’ll have a good go.”

Sevenoaks Town’s Greatness Park will need increase seating and covered standing to meet ground grading criteria to host Ryman League football for the very first time – but the club will be installing an artificial pitch during the close season.

When asked about the ground improvements, Collins said: “The thing is you have to do it early so you have to put it in place whether you’ve got a chance of it (promotion) or not.

“The last thing you want to do is go on a run and manage to get over the line like we did at Erith & Belvedere and you’re not ready for it, so you have to make that happen.

“It does cost us money and we know bits have got to be done, not a lot and it will be done and we’ll be ready and then if we manage to go and do it and get ourselves over the line, the club will be ready for Ryman football.   I know Paul (Lansdale, the chairman) is.

“I’m here for one reason and that one reason was to push this football club on. At the moment we’re doing it and it’s going where we need it to be, whether it will be this year, who knows?  It maybe a year too early for us but we’ll give it our best shot.”

Visit Sevenoaks Town’s website:  www.sevenoakstownfc.co.uk