Havant came with a very, very physical game plan. In fact it looked like they came with the game plan of taking Gary Holloway out of the game. They’re third in the table from playing that sort of tactic. Look at the other teams at the top, and how they play. Histon, top, direct. Salisbury, second, direct. Welling, fifth, direct. Braintree, Eastbourne, Newport, all above us, all direct. It’s not in my nature to play direct football - I want to put sides out with flair, who play good football. But I’ve learnt a thing or two this season. You need to be physical in this league. We’ve had Kenno out for three games, and our winning run has stopped. We’ve drawn all three matches. We’ve lacked his physicality in the middle. If we’d won them we’d have been fourth. Right in the hunt.

Another manager said to me the other day: ‘you have the best players in the league’. I said ‘I know, but I don’t have the best team.’ I’ve learnt a lot this season. We need players for every occasion, and that includes end-of-winter matches on a bobbly pitch when the going gets tough. Next season you’ll see what I’ve learnt. I have the nucleus of a great team here, but a few will go out and a few will come in. The players who come in will be better for the team than the players who go out. They need to be. This league is getting stronger every season, and we’ll have to get even stronger to get out of it. In the meantime there are three games left this season - two at home - and we mean to win them.

Next home game: Hayes 14th April
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