We're not setting into the lions' den, it's not like that in Guernsey, says Deres boss Micky Collins

ERITH & BELVEDERE manager Micky Collins says his side are not entering the lions’ den when they fly over to Guernsey to contest a LAST 64 FA Carlsberg Vase tie on Sunday.



Collins watched Guernsey’s 5-2 home win over Windsor & Eton to see for himself their third round opponents and was impressed with what he saw.

“Guernsey themselves are a very good outfit,” he said. “I had a very good chat with (Director and football secretary) Mark Le Tissier in their bar after the game last week and he was quite stunned we made the effort to go over to watch them.

“Basically what they’ve done, they’ve given footballers at any level on the island the portal to be watched on the mainland – they’ve had a lad signed professionally last week for Bristol City.

“Their players don’t get paid, they get given their flights to give them the platform to play, which is fantastic.  They’re very well supported.  I must say their fans aren’t very loud.  They’re very new to following a football side. It’s a very rugby oriented island and football’s only been in the forefront there for only two years’ in playing at the level we’re at.

“They play inter-island competitions but they’re very gifted players, very well-organised and very well drilled and it’s good that they’ve actually put the effort in to come and play in our structure, in our pyramid and I wish them every success.

“I can see why they were running away with their league (Combined Counties Division One) last year and doing well this year because they’re an extremely decent side.”

Collins admitted watching Guernsey play Windsor last weekend was refreshing for him.

Windsor found themselves 2-0 up inside 90 seconds, but Guernsey fought back to win the game 5-2.

He explained: “Windsor had a player sent-off and they (Guernsey supporters) clapped him off! Every time Windsor made a substitution they clapped the player on and off!

“You can tell it’s a different mentality to normal football fans who are abusive.

“I sat there for 90 minutes and never heard a swear word, which is quite unusual. It’s very family oriented, it’s an afternoon out to watch their local side, their national side. It’s quite refreshing.

“Going there as a neutral it was lovely.  I said to the boys last night at training it’s not like setting into the lions’ den.  It’s not like that at all!” 

The Deres will depart their Park View Road ground in Welling by coach at 06:30 on Sunday morning and their 45-minute flight to Guernsey will leave Gatwick Airport two hours’ later.

“Guernsey have laid on a coach at the other end for us which will take us to a hotel to have some brunch and then onto the game,” revealed Collins.

“It’s a 1:30pm kick-off, so it’s quite an early start but the boys are prepared for it.  It’s a different routine but it’s going to be different for Guernsey, they’ve never played on Sunday over there or at 1:30pm on a Sunday before, so it’s going to be different for both parties.  The excitement side of it will get us through it. We’re certainly not going to suffer any jetlag with a 45 minute flight so it could have been worse, we could have had a four-hour coach journey.”

Collins has done his homework on Guernsey, who are presently in third-place in the Combined Counties League Premier Division, with 12 wins and two draws from 15 games and are unbeaten on home soil.

Erith & Belvedere go into the game sitting in second-place in the Kent Hurlimann Football League, with ten wins and two draws from thirteen games.

The Deres are five points behind rivals’ Erith Town, the side Guernsey beat in the last round.

Collins is looking forward to the game as he bids to progress into the national stages of the competition.

“We had them watched here at Erith Town, we had four of our people there.  I’ve watched all their videos and I went over there last Saturday and watched them myself,” said Collins.

“They’re a good side. They’re a good side going forward, very well organised. Yes, it’s going to be a tough game, we know that.

“I don’t know whether they’ve watched us. We’ve shown them the respect by going over there to watch them.  If you want to take football seriously you have to put it in sometimes.  Whether it works I don’t know. We know what they’re good at and not what their good at. Let’s hope they haven’t shown us so much respect.”

Collins added: “The way they play, the way we play, it will probably be 10-9 or 9-8!  I think it will be the team that manages to hold the other team out because both teams do score a lot of goals.  It will probably be nil-nil now!

“But it will be a good game. They’re very well organised. We’re quite well drilled and it will be a tactical battle, which I’m looking forward to.”

“We want the result because we want to be in the fourth round.”

Collins said his players were relaxed during last night’s training session.

“Me and Watsie (former Crystal Palace striker Grant Watts) were very lucky to play in some really big games in our careers.  It’s not a massive game.  It’s only the third round of the FA Vase and it so happens we have to get on an aeroplane to play them.

“It’s win, stay in, lose and go out and that’s how we’ve looked at it in a relaxed atmosphere.

“We’re massively the underdogs. No one’s expecting us to go there and get a result. Hopefully we’ll go there and do the Kent League proud.”

Visit Erith & Belvedere’s website: www.erithandbelvederefc.co.uk

Visit Guernsey’s website: www.guernseyfc.com

Guernsey  v  Erith & Belvedere
The FA Carlsberg Vase Third Round
Sunday 9^th December 2012
Kick Off 1:30pm
at Footes Lane Stadium, St Peter Port, Guernsey