00:00Good afternoon and welcome back to Beckenham Town. I've got Drew Cooney with me, manager of the Wasp, EG, coming off the back of a loss here today.
00:13Drew, just talk me through what's been going on this week and how that result came about today.
00:22We had a Tuesday game against Broadman Chief in the League Cup. We made some changes from last week's win at Haseks, three or four changes, but to be fair, the first 45 minutes we were awful.
00:39We went in 2-0 down, we made some changes, come back out, got ourselves back in the game, could have gone on and possibly nicked it.
00:46We had a man sent off and we ended up losing game 4-2. We had a recovery session Thursday, we spent an hour going through some VO of last Saturday's win and obviously Tuesday, trying to highlight areas where we've been bad over the first six or seven games.
01:06We tried to sort of obviously back up the bad points with some positives. So yeah, it felt like a good session on Thursday and we come here sort of full of hope really.
01:18We look at this, we've got Cobra coming up, then Ashford, we've got a deal sort of around that as well.
01:26So, you know, all teams in and around us where we can sort of start clawing back some points.
01:30So today was massive. Today was, you know, it was a must-win game. You know, Beckenham haven't had a great start and it's notoriously hard coming up here and getting any points away at Beckenham.
01:42But to be fair, like this year, we really fancied it, just given their run of form as well.
01:48So, yeah, I mean the game, obviously horrible conditions for both teams, so there was no excuses there.
01:56We actually started fairly brightly, went 2-0 down. I wouldn't say against the run of play, but we created more chances.
02:05And then, like I say, you find yourself 2-0 down and then the other goals were just, like I say, we've been suspect in certain areas
02:17and we've tried to give people the benefit of doubt and give them games to back up sort of bad performances to try and rejuvenate themselves.
02:26But it's just, it's gone on too long now. I've said to the boys in there, we need to make some serious changes.
02:34We've got some really positive youngsters that we've got on loan from Bromley, who I think actually were probably the only positives to come out today.
02:40If I'm honest, I think our more experienced lads that have been with me for a while now have really let us down.
02:44I think our front line was, you know, we had three up top today and playing against the back three and I don't think we tested them at all.
02:52I don't think we tested them at all. Obviously sending off late on didn't help.
02:59And I thought the penalty decisions were harsh, but like I say, we didn't deserve to get anything out of that game.
03:04So, it's no excuses with the penalties.
03:05OK, well, thank you very much for a very honest assessment there.
03:10On the positive side, you went to New Boys Hassex last week and picked up a really good clean sheet, 1-0 victory.
03:19Is that something to build on?
03:22You would have thought so coming into today, but obviously after that, then Hassex games, you know, it's irrelevant.
03:31You can't go and win 1-0 away from home, keep a clean sheet.
03:36And then come away the following week with a very similar team.
03:40Well, actually, it was the same team, so it was the same start in 11.
03:43And then lose 4-0 to a team that are, you know, just above us in the league.
03:49That's not acceptable.
03:51OK. I can tell you're pretty hurt about that one tonight.
03:54I mean, none of us in Sussex want anybody to be on the receiving end of a relegation.
04:03I know you guys are currently in that, but there's a hell of a long way this season to go.
04:10Is there a message to the fans that you can get yourself out of this?
04:14Yeah, I mean, without doubt, there's, you know, we've played eight games now.
04:18Yeah.
04:18So, yeah, I'm not, look, I'm a realist, but there's no way that we're going to be where we are in the next four to five weeks.
04:28We will pick up wins without doubt.
04:30I have utter confidence in that.
04:32But, like I say, today is a bad one for us because, like I say, we should have come here and we should have got something out of the game.
04:40We didn't because our performance didn't warrant that.
04:42But, like I say, moving forward, we've got some very winnable games.
04:47We've got to play, we've had a tough start, to be fair, as well.
04:49We've played teams that are all around the top five or six.
04:52But when we're playing the teams around us at the bottom, that's when you've got to pick the points up.
04:57But, you know, years gone by and the three seasons I've been here now, we're notorious for going to places where we're not expected to get points and we'll get points.
05:09And we've got hope for that because, like I say, I've been here so long now as a player and obviously the last two and a half, three years as a manager.
05:18A club means everything to me.
05:20So, you know, to go through this tricky start, it does hurt.
05:24It hurts a lot.
05:25So, yeah, we've just got to work harder.
05:29We've got to find a balance of, you know, we've got a really young team.
05:34We've got to find a balance of youth and experience.
05:37But experience is hard to get at this level.
05:40You know, we're not blessed in them departments that other clubs are.
05:44And that gap is becoming harder and harder each year.
05:47Teams that are coming into this league have got far bigger expenses and budgets than we have.
05:53And that's not an excuse either because we've been around the league long enough to know how it operates.
05:58But, yeah, it's going to be tough.
06:00And this is without doubt going to be my biggest challenge as a manager.
06:05But we'll face it and we'll get through it and we'll pick up points when we need to.
06:09And I'd say we've just got to put in extra work on and off the pitch.
06:15And we've got to be, I'd say, I think we'll have to re-look at our recruitment.
06:20I wouldn't say it's, I think we've got some great lads in there.
06:23But there's probably six or seven that are playing their first season of men's football.
06:27And that's, I wouldn't say that's been apparent and that's been the fault.
06:31I'm just saying that when results aren't quite going your way, you need a few leaders and you need a bit of experience in and around them boys.
06:38Because they've not experienced men's football, let alone going for sort of five or six games without a win.
06:42So, yeah, look, we'll have a think over the weekend.
06:48We've got a game Tuesday in the Sussex Senior Cup, which will be an opportunity to see some more players.
06:56And then, like I say, we go away to Cobra next week, which is a huge game now.
07:01They're all going to be big games, but this month's big.
07:04We've set some targets for the lads and that's three points we've set as a target and we haven't got it.
07:09So we've got to now find that three points somewhere else.
07:11OK, well, I really appreciate your honesty from everybody associated with Sussex football.
07:19We send you all the best and we really hope you can find the elixir of winning over the next couple of weeks.
07:29And we will come back and see you guys later on in the season.
07:33Just hopefully you can start piecing those wins together and get yourself out of that problem.
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