Kentish Football 
We're meeting the deadline the Kent Invicta League have imposed on all clubs, says Lewisham chairman
However, on the pitch, the club has struggled this season and are in the bottom two in the table after picking up two wins and a draw from their fourteen games.
They went down to a disappointing 5-1 home defeat to Hollands & Blair yesterday and are only three points clear of basement side Meridian, who hail from Charlton.
“It’s just been one of those seasons,” admitted Simpson, who will lead the club into their tenth anniversary in March.
“We’ve had problems pretty much all season, injuries, suspensions, players leaving, a manager leaving pre-season. It’s been one of those seasons, but there’s been a lot of positives as well.
“We’ve had a manager who left in pre-season and Willie O’Sullivan came in at short notice but he’s not managed to get the players he would have loved to have got in.
“Eventaully, when we did, we’ve had quite a few injuries so we’ve been using a lot of youth team players, which is good in a sense because you can prepare them for the future.
“It’s been a frustrating and disapointing campaign, but saying that we’re using it very much as a learning curve and a building process for next season and season’s after that.
“For me it’s taking the positives out. We know we can’t win anything this season. Myself and the manager have sat down and agreed to use as many under 18 players as possible and give them experience of senior football. We’re blooding them in early.”
Simpson spoke about transforming an old storage room at the complex into a money generating clubhouse.
He said: “The other positive has been the addition of our clubhouse, where we’re able to extend some great hospitality. We’ve got a premises licence where we can serve alcohol and we’ve obtained some football foundation money.
“Those are the positives we can take out of the season. Even though things aren’t going right on the pitch, we’re putting the foundations in place to be able to attract some decent players and keep them.
“We’ve had some decent players who have been with us and don’t stay because of finances. With the clubhouse and hopefully a generation of much needed revenue we could be in a position next season to do that.
“It’s very much been Lewisham Borough (Council), ourselves pushing ahead with that but I suppose it’s been a joint partnership with Lewisham Council, Fushion who run the stadium, ourselves and the Football Foundation that have made this happen.
“I’ve been pushing the Mayor of Lewisham very strongly to make this happen. When we did go into the Kent Invicta League there were certain requirements to be made by certain dates and one was a clubhouse.
“I’ve leaned on the Mayor a little bit and he’s delivered in a huge way.
“The other improvements that we’ve received Football Foundation funding for is a permanent fixed barrier. It’s still to be to be declided whether it’s going to be around the whole pitch or one side. We’ve been told it’s only needed on one side of the pitch.
“We’ve created a secure walkway and we’ve done that by moving the referee’s room. We’ve got the home and away dressing rooms and referee’s changing room all next to each other and we can create a secure walkway and barrier that off as well. We’ll be having treatment tables and buzzers in all of the changing rooms.
“There’s a pitch irrigation system that will also be in place and all of these works have got to be completed by March 2013 and they will be. They’re on target because these works have already started. My reports say these are to be finished, weather permitting in January or February.
“We’re on target with what we’ve called phase two. Phase one was the clubhouse. We’re on target for 2013 and affectively phase three will be a stand but that is going to be some time off as off yet because we need to apply for more Football Foundation money. That will be a year or eighteen months away.
“We’re meeting the deadlines the Kent Invicta League have imposed on all clubs in the league.”
When asked about installing a stand at the athletics ground, Simpson said: “It’s actually going to go on the railway side. It’s where the benches are there at the moment.
“It’s not going to be one of your typical stands you see at football grounds. We’ve got to get a stand with seats in to fit in with an athletics stadium. It’s next to the long jump area but we’ve got to position it in a certain way so it doesn’t impact on that so there’s a lot of discussions ongoing regarding that. That’s the space that has been identified.
“Don’t be surprsied if that doesn’t move again. We’re looking at several spaces around Ladywell Arena. That is the most likely as it’s on the halfway line and it backs on to the fencing.”
When asked how the club survives, Simpson replied he is grateful to the support they receive from Lewisham Council.
“How do we survive? Well to be honest what I would say first the support of the local authoirty is incredible,” he replied.
“We are known as the borough club. We do have the Lewisham name in our name and without the support of the local authoity we wouldn’t be able to surivive.”
Mr Simpson added: “We’ve got a fantastic team of volunteers. The time and work that we all put in to make sure the club develops, runs and thirves. The volunteers get actively invovled in the running of the clubhouse to extend hospitality.
“In terms of the financial side it’s largely down to the local authority. We did secure a sponsor who are interested in a lot of things we’ve been doing in the borough in terms of expanding coachig courses. With a youth policy we do have they were very interested in supporting that whole process.
“Lewisham Council and one or two sponsors and with myself and a great team of volunteers have kept the club moving forward.”
Phoenix Sports v Lewisham Borough
Kent Invicta League
Saturday 5th January 2013
Kick Off 1:45pm
At Phoenix Sports Ground, Mayplace Road East, Barnehurst, Kent DA7 6JT
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd