(continued...) On that note I’ve let a couple of players go out on loan to Worthing, Lewis Hamilton and Lewis Cook. They haven’t started the season well, they’ve both been in and out the side, and their confidence is shot. They’ll get a month’s first team action over there, and I’m sure it’ll do them the world of good. We’re hoping to have Siggy back for the next game, at home to Basingstoke. He’s so important up front for us. Cadey and Boothy play a similar game – they both run the channels – but Siggy’s much more direct, much more central and much more powerful. I’ve only been able to play him once with Boothy this season, against Welling, and look what happened. There will also be another new face: I’ve signed left-winger Derek Duncan on a month’s loan from Leyton Orient. He should be a major plus for us. He’s skilful, he’s fast, he tackles, he gets his foot in. He’s 19 and has already played 24 games for Orient, and they’ve loaned him to us so he gets a bit of first team experience.

Basingstoke will be a tough game because they are a very good side on paper but they haven’t started well: they haven’t had the rub of the green and they haven’t managed a win. Something’s got to give. I’d like to reiterate something I’ve already said: it hasn’t been a great start to the season, but it hasn’t been catastrophic. People expected us to hit the ground running this season, and we haven’t done that, but we’ve only lost two in seven, and if we string together a couple of wins we’ll be right up where we belong. So keep supporting the team, and I assure you we’ll get it right, because we’ve got a good bunch of players: we have to battle and work hard and the quality will shine through.