We've just got to go out there and do the business, says Peckham Town boss Alan Jacobs

PECKHAM TOWN manager Alan Jacobs says he believes the club will be higher up the football pyramid in ten years’ time.

The Dulwich Common based club only joined the Kent County League last season and they clinched the Division Two West title at the first attempt.

The Menace climbed into third-place in the Division One West table following their 4-1 win away to Ide Hill yesterday, where striker Schaveize Williams, 24, scored all four of their goals, despite suffering from a cold, a bad back and a knock to his knee.

Peckham Town was established in 1982 by Bryan Hall (now chairman), first as Brimington Park FC because a group of friends held kickabouts every evening on the play area that was known as Brimington Park, which is located off Colmer Road in London SE15.

But if the club continues to progress as Jacobs predicts, then Peckham Town could play at more illustrious venues in the future.

Peckham Town have plans to get their ground at the Southwark Sports Ground up to scratch.

“We’ve actually got some funding,” revealed Jacobs, 55.

“Our pitch at the moment is absolutely waterlogged. The drainage is atrocious. The council are now going to spend about £100,000 to get the drainage sorted out but there’s also sports lottery money and some other funds because Bryan (Hall) would go out and sit on every committee anywhere where somebody wants to talk about football – he’ll be there and he is Mr Peckham Town.

“There’s I believe 22 sides at different age groups and we’re a nobody side that’s trying to make a name for ourselves and I think somewhere down the line – give us ten years’ – will be quite high up.

“I said to the players that we’re going to be ruthless enough finally dig them out and we’re going to find players who really want to play the game.”

With Dulwich Hamlet right on their doorstep it would be easy to think that Peckham Town had some link with the Champion Hill outfit.

But Peckham Town have a link with a League One club, 12 and a half miles away.

“We are affiliated to Brentford and some of our boys have gone to their Academy,” revealed Jacobs.

No club can progress into step five (Southern Counties East Football League) without floodlights and Peckham Town are pulling out all the stops to ensure progress is made both on and off the pitch.

“This is all down to our local council and whoever else is involved in passing these sorts of regulations because we’re in a conservation area,” said Jacobs.

“We have had plans for an all-weather training surface to go in. Bryan also coaches wheelchair/disabled football and we’ve been given the go-ahead to build this and build that.  You’ve got to get the green light from the surrounding neighbours as well.

“We’ve been about two years so far trying to get the green light on some of the work we’ve done over there.  They’ve now agreed the training area can be built but not where we wanted to build it.  We’ve now got to resubmit plans for a different area of the ground and hopefully that will be passed, which will be an all-weather surface and the next thing after that is we need the planning for floodlights.”

Meanwhile, back on the pitch, Peckham Town travel to Stansfeld Oxford & Bermondsey Club next Saturday in the Inter-Regional Challenge Cup Third Round.

Their hosts are in seventh-place in the Haart of Kent County League Premier and Jacobs adds: “If we give a good account of ourselves we can compete with anybody – we just got to go out there and do the business.”

But it’s their London Senior Trophy Quarter-Final against Ryman League Division One South club Corinthian-Casuals that has Jacobs excited.

Peckham Town were drawn at home against Corinthian-Casuals’ reserve side, who play in the Suburban League Premier Division, but the Surrey club have persuaded the London Football Association to switch the tie to King Georges Field in Tolworth on Saturday, 18 January (3pm).

“We play Corinthian-Casuals who haven’t given us a lot of credit,” claimed Jacobs.

“They have been a little disrespectful to us I believe, doesn’t think we’re anybody.  We had the home tie in that. They’ve decided they’re not coming over to Peckham. They don’t want to because they’ve got floodlights so they’ve been on to The FA and The FA agreed that we have to switch the tie and we have to go over to their ground.

“Everything now seems to be on their plate. To me that winds me up a little bit because we aint a bad side. If you’ve never seen us play before we’re not a hump it and chase it side. We want to put the ball down and we want to try and play football.”

Jacobs revealed he will use that when he prepares his talented side for the game.

He said: “I said to these boys, I won’t be trying to run a football side if I wasn’t passionate about it. I don’t want to stand out here and get a cold and everything else and let my hair go curly.

“If my players want to respond and give me what they’ve got.  I feel it’s disrespectful like.  Corinthian-Casuals are a quality outfit, their where they are but who are we? We want to be there and we have to go out and prove to sides like that that we can compete with them.  I honestly believe that we will and that’s part of my team talk.”

Visit Peckham Town’s website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/peckhamtownfootballclub/