Tonbridge Angels go into the Bank Holiday weekend looking to make it three wins in a row as they make another long trip west to face former Non-League giants Yeovil Town in Somerset.
We caught up with Jay Saunders this week and found him in a positive mood. “I think we should have more than six points by now if I’m honest,” the Angels boss told us.
“After two very close defeats, it’s been good to turn it around with two very good wins. All in all, pleased with the start, but as a manager you’re never happy!”
“We don’t feel as though anything extra is expected of us this year after last season. The management team have set our standards high and as I said last year, we’ll have the target of trying to make the Play Offs and if we have a really good season, we’ll do that again, so the only people we put pressure on are ourselves really.
“There’s always added pressure as you’ve done well but I want that and as a management team and a club you want that as it shows that you’re doing something right!”
“We’ve tried to add some experience this year who have been there and done it at our level as I felt as though that’s what was needed, I’ve been really pleased with them and I think that’s there’s more to come but you can see the understanding is coming already and hopefully, we’ll keep improving!”
“The boys also know that the youngsters will always get the chance like Joe Tyrie who’s with Ryan Maxwell at Sittingbourne but it’s important that if the young players are good enough, we will give them opportunity and they know that. I’ve used a lot of academy lads since I’ve been at the Club, and we’ll carry on doing that!”
The Angels face a trip to Yeovil on Saturday before welcoming Welling United on Bank Holiday Monday, and Saunders said, “Its a long trip but going to Yeovil, you’ve got to remember that a few years back they were a Championship club.
“I always enjoyed going there as a player and still do as a manager, look forward to seeing Mark Cooper who I get on well with, and they’re going to be right up there this season, it’s a good test for us and some of our lads won’t have played in stadiums like that with that pressure. And off the back of two good wins, hopefully we can go there and give a good account of ourselves.”
“Then onto Welling on Monday, it’s a derby, they’ve not had the best of starts despite signing some good players and I know watching a few of their games, they’ve been close, and they have been unlucky not to get the points on the table. It’ll be a different test to the Yeovil one, but hopefully we’ll get a good crowd, they’re up and that will happen if we keep producing the performances.”
“The League is strong in a different way this year because of the travelling involved heading to the West Country seven times I think, there’s a lot of travelling this year but all we can do is prepare the best we can and if we do that, I think we can give a good account of ourselves.”