The scary thing is you're constantly looking over your shoulder, says Sittingbourne boss Matt Wyatt

The club finished in fourteenth-place in the Ryman League Division One South table last season with 61 points from their 46 games.

Last week, joint-manager Nick Davis said that their remit is to keep the club in the division at the end of the coming season.

Sittingbourne have begun their pre-season campaign with two defeats.  They lost 4-1 to Conference Premier side Welling United and down to a 3-1 defeat to Leatherhead, newly-promoted to the Ryman Premier League, yesterday.

“I was disappointed we conceded some sloppy goals but overall I’m pleased with two very good performances in the first two games,” Wyatt told www.sittingbournefc.co.uk.

“I thought we were the better team for much of the (Leatherhead) match but we must switch on for the whole 90 minutes – and there’s still a long way to go before the season starts for real.”

Sittingbourne’s two biggest departures were the two strikers that provided 47 goals.

Joe Taylor who banged in 27 of them has secured a move to Conference South side Farnborough, while Ryan Golding has signed for their league rivals Whitstable Town, now managed by Jim and Danny Ward.

“We’ve got some good players together here but it’s undoubtedly going to be hard this season,” admitted Wyatt.

“I’m disappointed at the amount of players we’ve lost. We’ve been given a budget and had given them our best offer but if they can get more elsewhere you can’t blame them for going.

“The average footballer is not like Hich (Hicham Akhazzan who joined the club in November 2006), who has stayed loyal to the club for so long.

“The scary thing is you’re constantly looking over your shoulder.  You look at the players you’ve signed but anyone can come in with seven days’ notice and offer them more to go elsewhere and you might lose them.”

Sittingbourne continue their pre-season campaign with a home game against Canterbury City on Thursday, before travelling to Thamesmead Town - who play at the same level as Sittingbourne in Ryman League Division One North - next Saturday.

Visit Sittingbourne’s website: www.sittingbournefc.co.uk