We must put last year behind us, says Lewis

Sunday 09th August 2009

MARGATE defender Ben Lewis says he’s expecting a tough opening week as the Thanet club get their reprieved Ryman Premier League campaign underway at Sutton United next Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Hartsdown Park outfit endured a miserable campaign and only escaped relegation last season due to Fisher Athletic’s demise.

The Blues kick-off their campaign with a trip to Gander Green Lane to face Sutton United at the weekend, before Kent rivals Dartford visit Hartsdown Park on Tuesday, 18 August.

Lewis, 32, whose move from rivals Maidstone United before the transfer deadline was blocked, and therefore could not stop the Blues finishing fourth-from-bottom, wants Margate to have a much better season this time out.

“It’s happened,” he told www.kentishfootball.co.uk . “We haven’t gone down, we’re in the league that we want to be in.

“We’ll just carry on, forget about last year now. Everyone starts (with the same record) now.”

With director Colin Page recently saying that he thinks the club will be challenging for a place in the promotion play-off’s, Lewis remains cautious.

“I think a lot will depend on our start,” said Lewis. “If we can get off to a decent start over the first ten games, I don’t see why we can’t push on and see where it goes from there.”

But Margate face two tough games against two sides that are expected to be challenging for the main honours.

“The Sutton game is going to be hard,” warned Lewis. “They’re going to be big and physical and probably looking to be promoted. They chuck a bit of money around as well.

“Dartford are our next game, so we’ve got a real tough start, but we’ve got to start getting ready for it.”

Having played under Lloyd Hume and Alan Walker at Maidstone United, Lewis is now looking forward to playing for a couple of Welsh legends, in Terry Yorath and Neville Southall.

“That was the main reason I came here to be honest,” Lewis admitted.

“I don’t know how many years I’ve got left in it (the game), three or four years maybe. I’ve always been quite fit.

“I wanted to see what they were like, two very experienced, legends really in the game. It’s a good experience (for me to play for them).

Listen to live commentary of this game on Saturday via www.margate-fc.com

Sutton United v Margate

Ryman Premier League

Saturday 15th August 2009

Kick Off 3:00pm

At Gander Green Lane, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 2EY