The structure of the club is getting stretched because we need help now, warns Tommy Warrilow

TONBRIDGE ANGELS boss Tommy Warrilow says he is looking forward to welcoming his former club Crawley Town to Longmead Stadium on Wednesday night.



The Angels finished their inaugural Blue Square Bet (Conference) South campaign in a respectable ninth-place and welcome the newly-promoted League One outfit for their opening outing of the pre-season.

Warrilow, 47, played for Crawley Town between 1988-1990 when John Maggs signed him from Torquay United.  The central defender was sold to Hythe Town for £15,000 – which was a Sussex non-league record transfer fee at the time.

“I had a fantastic time there,” reflected Warrilow.  “John Maggs took me there from Torquay United, coming out of the pro game was disappointing, and I had two and a half seasons and then I got sold to Hythe. 

“We had a good team over there and I really had a good time.  They’ve got a brand new ground now and the last five years – and what they’ve achieved in the last five years, especially in the last three of them has been nothing short of a miracle.

“They’ve had the backing through the Conference and the lower levels and now they’re in Division One.  I’ve spoken to people who I know there, they’ve got to be a bit more patient as it’s League One and it’s a massive leap. They’ll more than hold their own. If they can push on and get another promotion that will be more than what they envisaged when they set off on their crusade.

“It’s a fantastic club now.  You’re talking about a million pound players at Crawley – that’s how much they’ve changed.

“I know Craig Brewster, the coach down there and I went to a funeral down there and I bumped into a load of old supporters – it was quite a while ago when I played there but it was nice to see them.

“We used to have good crowds down there in the old Beazer Premier – the days playing the likes of Dartford, Burton Albion and Cheltenham and there’s a few teams that have pushed on into the Football League.

“Once they got this new ground it attracted new fans and they’ve grown and it’s nice to see.”

New Crawley Town boss Sean O’Driscoll has promised to send a strong squad to Longmead Stadium to face the Angels.

Warrilow said: “To be honest the games have come round quicker. We used to have loads of training sessions.

“We’re not expecting miracles. We’re going to keep it quite simple. We’ve been back for four sessions so you’re not going to get your sharpness, pattern, set-pieces in such a short period of time.

“To have two games in four days, the lads will probably benefit more from that than having a couple of sessions and after the Ebbsfleet game (at home on Saturday) we go back to two sessions and pick the bones of the two fixtures we’ve just had.

“It’s a good game as well. Crawley are bringing their full first-team squad down so it will be a good night for everyone down there.”

When asked what he wants out of the game, Warrilow said: “I’m just expecting us to try and keep the ball well.  Fitness will kick in with them being a full-time side, but if we can hold our own and give a good account of ourselves – I expect us to be flagging 60-70 minutes into the game.”

Warrilow revealed he will give a whole host of trialists a chance to impress.

He said: “I’ve got a few players down there tomorrow night to freshen it all up and not to kill everyone in one game. We’ve only got 48 hours and we bring Ebbsfleet down on a Saturday.

“I’m not putting any expectations on the lads. I want them to enjoy themselves, push themselves for how long they’re on the pitch and get minutes.

“We’ve got quite a few trailists coming down and we’ll be having a look at that. We’ll rotate it around.  I’m thinking of playing between 19-21 players. Everyone will have a part of the game. I’ll try to split them into two sides so it’s not all first team in one and trialists in another.  I’ll try to mix it in the games to give everyone a fair shout.

“You can’t expect trailists to come on the pitch and gel and try to prove themselves against other trailists.  If you’ve got half of the (signed) lads playing with each other you expect them to be organised.

“I might do a sixty minute thing and give the lads (on trial) half an hour. We’ll see how we go.  I’ve got to sort out the two sides yet.”

The club’s two summer signings, midfielder Tom Davis and striker George Purcell will be making their club debuts, although defender Sonny Miles remains on the sidelines as he goes in for a hernia operation next weekend.

George Crimmen (holiday), former Crawley defender  Ben Judge (thigh) and Robbie Kember (injured) are all out.

“There’s four players in a squad of sixteen, that’s why the trailists are coming in and there’s a chance for them to kick the door open.”

Warrilow hasn’t ruled out the possibility of trialists earning a deal with the club – if the turnstiles click during pre-season.

The club will face Championship side Charlton Athletic in another lucrative friendly at Longmead Stadium on Tuesday 7 August – and Warrilow highlighted the importance of supporters turning out in force for all home pre-season matches to boost his playing budget.

He said: “I’ve told them (the trialists) there’s a possible place, there’s maybe a couple of places. Who knows? We’ve still got six weeks until the start of the season so there’s still quite a long way to go so a lot can happen.  I’ve been up front with them all.

“Another lad turned up last night and I said the same thing to him. If he has an offer with a club then he’s free to go.  There’s been no commitment from either side.

“I hope someone comes down and shows there’s a little bit tasty perhaps.  With the pre-season games and the turnstiles clicking there may be something there but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Warrilow hopes tomorrow’s game will build bridges with Crawley Town so that the West Sussex outfit are regular visitors to Longmead Stadium.

“Sean O’Driscoll is coming down with a full strength squad, the pitch is looking fantastic as well. The weather has been horrendous but the football pitch is the best I’ve seen it since I’ve been there.  Hopefully Crawley will see that.

“I said to my board we’re not a side who will kick lumps out of everyone. We’ll be looking to maintain that fixture and make it an annual fixture each season.”

Warrilow, meanwhile, has challenged the local council to support the club.

“It would be nice for the council to come in and have a chat with us and talk about developing the ground,” he said.

“The council own the ground – we don’t own the ground – so it would be nice for the council to step forward and come in and have a look and see what Dartford have done and teams like Crawley Town etc etc and try and help us out a little bit with developing the stadium.

“It would be fantastic if we can start building on that side because I’m pretty sure we will get more people through the gate.”

Warrilow thanked the band of volunteers who have spent many hours during the summer getting Longmead Stadium up to scratch for the new season.

He said: “We’ve opened up a club shop now and an office for me and an office for Charlie Cole and all these little things clubs take for granted.

“The volunteers have been there every Saturday and you can’t fault the efforts all the way through the off-season again.”

But he warned: “The structure of the club is really getting stretched because we need help now. We need local business and the commercial side to come in and to help out.”

Visit Tonbridge Angels’ website: www.tonbridgeangelsonline.co.uk  

Tonbridge Angels  v  Crawley Town
Pre-Season Friendly
Wednesday 11^th July 2012
Kick Off 7:45pm
at Longmead Stadium, Darenth Avenue, Tonbridge, Kent TN10 3JF