We're more than capable of getting a result at Bognor Regis Town, says Jay Saunders

AFTER seeing his side slip to their first defeat in fourteen games at Salters Lane against Faversham Town on Tuesday night, Maidstone United boss Jay Saunders was a disconsolate figure for perhaps the first time this season, as he looked ahead to what is now a vital Ryman League Division One South game this weekend away to Bognor Regis Town, writes Mike Green.


Saunders was full of praise for Ray Turner's side after they inflicted the Stones first League defeat since the first week of the season. 

He said: "I thought they deserved to beat us on the night - we never got going!  We dropped below our standards and it’s now so important we pick ourselves up for the weekend."

Saunders added: "We want to win ever game we play - we had to play a bit unbalanced in the week but that's the run we're having with injuries at the minute,  but they took their chances and overall definitely deserved the three points and there should be little doubt in any of our supporters minds that Faversham deserved to beat us. 

“The final ball just didn't go for us - but I won’t take anything away from them as they beat us fair and square!"
 
Looking ahead to what has become an increasingly important League game on the Sussex coast against a Bognor Regis Town side in second place, Saunders was in little doubt over what his side are capable of achieving. 

He said: "We are capable of going there and getting a result.  At the end of the day, I've always said that if we're up there and within touching distance of top spot then I will be happy."
 
What he couldn't have anticipated though was his side would travel to such an important game with out a keeper to call on. 

"Kelvin (Jack) is suspended; Charlie (Mitten) is still hurt and Marc Powell's also away as he's got long standing work commitments so we don't have a keeper to call on at the moment, but that's just sums up the way it is for us at the moment. 

“Make no mistake, we'll get a side up that's more than capable of going there and getting a result."
 
Asked about other potential problems, Saunders, whose side are in fourth place, two points behind Saturday’s opponents, conceded, "Graeme Andrews has a thigh problem which he aggravated Tuesday but I thought Danny Lye, who's not a natural centre half, played well for us on Tuesday night, but once again we'll have to look at it at training on Thursday and take it from there. 

“Last Saturday we had eight who would have been fit if we'd have had a game and that's as low as it’s got.
 
"I've always said that we will take each game as we go.  After losing at Whitstable, I said we needed an unbeaten run of 10 games or so and the boys have given me 14 and when we were recently three points clear with a game in hand there were a few too many people who started celebrating already - "We're going to win the league" and the rest of it, but if we are, we're going to have to keep plugging away and go back to getting results and that will hopefully start at Bognor on Saturday."

Visit Maidstone United’s website: www.maidstoneunited.co.uk

Bognor Regis Town  v Maidstone United
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 3^rd December 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO21 2TY