The players are suffering from a lack of confidence at the moment, says Whitstable's Justin Luchford

JUSTIN LUCHFORD has started to put down his marker as he has unveiled two new signings for Whitstable Town during the past week.


Goalkeeper Jack Smelt and midfielder John-Paul Collier have both arrived from Margate and East Grinstead respectively.

“I have to thank Chris (Kinnear) and Jake (Leberl) for all their help on this one,” Luchford told www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk.

“Jack was the understudy to Simon Overland at Margate and wanted to play regular and I have known Jack for a while.

“He is a young lad and has a great future.  He currently studies in Canterbury and so is perfect for us.

“He has a great attitude and a will to win.

“Richard (Langley, my assistant manager) and I are really looking forward to working with him.  It will be Richard’s second time as Jack was the number one at Ramsgate last season.”

Speaking about Collier’s arrival at The Belmont, former Faversham and Horsham boss Luchford added, “John-Paul arrives from East Grinstead where he was playing and coaching with their previous manager who is also a friend of mine.

“I had JP at Faversham when we won the Kent League and will be a great asset to us.  He is a forward thinking player with an eye for goal but more importantly can link other players into play.”

Whitstable fell to a 4-1 defeat away to Chipstead last weekend and Luchford said: “I don’t think the result reflected the game at all. A draw would have been a fair result, but for some very strange refereeing decisions.

“We started slowly in both halves but once we got a foot hold in the game I thought we looked ok with our shape and work rate.

“The lads are suffering from lack of confidence at the moment. We need to go on a bit of a run if we can to instill the confidence back into the players.

“We have some very good players and we need to play to their strengths. We were also learning a new way of playing, a couple of new faces and a few people trying new positions, so Saturday was always going to be tough.

“As I have said before, it’s great that we don’t have too many mid-week games as it gives us chance to work with the players more during the week.

“I was pleased with the overall work-rate and desire, I just think we need to be a bit fitter, and have a little more trust and confidence in one another. I can only see us improving which is a good thing.”

Luchford, who takes his side to Godalming Town on Saturday added, “We are going to try and build something here at this club, but these things take a bit of time.

“We have a tough fixture list between now and the New Year, so we need to knuckle down, work hard and earn the right to get some points on the board.

“The thing with this league is that if you can put two or three results together you can quickly turn your season around. We would like to do that, but at present we need to see improvements in every game, and that is the main thing for now.

“Lots to work on, but nothing that is a major problem. We will work hard this week and be ready for another away test at the weekend. We have a great set of lads here, which want to win and want to do well.

“Richard and I are enjoying working with them, and hopefully over the coming weeks we will see us improve and get back to winning ways.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Sittingbourne are pleased to announce that the committee have appointed Joe Dowley as manager, following a stint as caretaker manager at Bourne Park.

A club statement said: “Joe had taken the reins in a temporary capacity, helped by Bryan Glover and Bradley Spice, after the departure of Richard Brady.  The committee have been impressed by Joe’s commitment and the performance of the side in the last two games and are confident in the future under him.”

Article courtesy of www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk  and www.sittingbournefc.co.uk

Godalming Town  v  Whitstable Town
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 19^th November 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
Wey Court, Meadrow, Godalming, Surrey GU7 3JE