We need help to progress, says treble winning Blair boss

Gillingham outfit Hollands & Blair clinched the Vandanel Kent County League premier division title by finishing three points clear of Gravesend side Fleet Leisure.

The Star Meadow outfit also bagged the Bill Manklow Inter-Regional Cup and the Kent Intermediate Challenge Shield with wins over Orpington and Rusthall respectively.

Manager Mick Moran, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk, reflects on an excellent campaign for his boys.

“Although at the start of every season you set about expecting to win all that is before you, in reality you tend to adjust expectation as the season develops,” he said.

“This season has been a little surreal; from a relatively slow start when a mixture of  good fortune tinged with some bad luck ensured a number of drawn matches, and incurring a defeat to a quality Lewisham Borough side, resulted in us being considerably off the pace and playing catch up very early on.

“Our situation was exasperated further by a number of weather affected fixture cancellations which we knew would probably lead to fixture congestion at the end of the season.

“However, our cup runs, initially in the Kent Intermediate Shield, with a hard earned final victory over an excellent Rusthall side, built an inner confidence and a belief that was evident in the run in at the end of the season.

“The fixture congestion in April appeared to favour our rivals, however with a degree of good fortune, namely steering clear of injuries, and with winning becoming almost a habit, the fatigue didn’t really kick in until the League title was claimed, against Sheerness East on Bank Holiday Monday.

“The treble was achieved with a dour if not gutsy display against arch rivals Orpington after extra time.”

Despite their efforts, Hollands & Blair look likely to remain in their current division as their ground doesn’t have the facilities to secure a place in the Bulmers Cider Kent League.

But Moran looks to former Kent County League opponents’ Holmesdale and Norton Sports as inspiration to progress, and he spoke about the League meeting that he attended seven days ago at Lordswood.

“Having attended the presentation on Step 6 football in Kent last Wednesday it became apparent that for clubs like ours, this is an imperative structure for our progression within the pyramid structure,” he said.

“The leap towards the Bulmers Cider Kent League is a step too far, not in terms of playing strength, but in terms of facilities.

“We have come a long way in a relatively short time and in terms of ground development we need both time and access to funding which would allow us the opportunity of achieving our goal,” said Moran.

“We as a club favour the utilization of the existing structure, namely recognising the Kent County (Premier) League as a Step 6, with subsequent divisions (Divsion 1, East and West) as Step 7 which would allow all the successful clubs with ambition, access to the additional funding.

“We feel the Kent Leagues suggestion that a separate League/Division be formed with the entry level based purely on ground criteria and not ability, to not only to be totally detrimental to clubs like us who have fought hard to achieve what we have from very humble beginnings, but also extremely detrimental to the structure of the Kent County League.

“We have reached a level now, where to move on would require a degree of help, and as a Step 6 club the access to funding might just help us.”

Visit Hollands & Blair’s website: www.hollandsandblair.co.uk

Visit the Vandanel Kent County League website: www.kentcountyfootballleague.co.uk