Whitstable Town head up the A2 this weekend looking to keep pace with SCEFL Premier leaders Larkfield & New Hythe. 

Whilst the leaders host Sutton Athletic, Jamie Coyle takes his side to Maybank Road to face a Phoenix Sports side still finding their feet under new boss Jake Goodman. 

Speaking to KSN ahead of the game, Coyle told us, “We’ve had a better start in the League to the one that we had last year for sure, but even then, we have spent the last couple of weeks looking at where we can improve as a team with the input of the players.

“It has been a really productive couple of weeks it really has – there are still areas that we need to improve on but we are most certainly in a great place and it is still in our hands to go back to the top of the League with the games in hand that we have.” 

“At the start of the season, a lot of people would have said that Punjab would have been there or thereabouts, Phoenix will have been there or there abouts. We were second favourites last year (behind Champions Faversham Town) and we were thirteenth/fourteenth at the end of November! 

“It’s only a start and it’s the same if you have had a good start or a slow start, it is only a start! It’s great that we are in the position that we are in, but we have a hell of a lot of work still to do between now and the end of the season if we are going have some success.

“The players are aware of that, we as a management team are aware of that and its one of those Leagues at the moment where there are three or four teams at the moment who are on really good runs and we have to replicate that to stay in touch with them!” 

“I don’t really look at League tables – I know all managers say the something. I look at the table in terms of where we have done well so far this season, and where we need to improve and that’s more so based around goals scored and goals conceded. There’s no hiding recently a few weeks ago, before we played Snodland there were only two sides in the League who had conceded more than we had and we were top! 

“We’ve addressed that with the players and all of a sudden there has been a real change in the threat in the final third and the chances we have scored and created have been phenomenal.

“Sometimes that leads to being suspect at the other end of the pitch – just look at when drew 3-3 with Stansfield; we shouldn’t be conceding three goals at home against anyone in this League if we are going to be where we need to become the end of the season!” 

Coyle side travel to Phoenix Sports this weekend and Coyle conceded that Goodman, his opposite number who is still playing for the Bexley side, could have an advantage.

“It’s deja-vu really for me to last year where I was still playing on the pitch alongside Jake. It does most definitely help when the manager is on the pitch in terms of someone who is experienced and organising – Phoenix is going to be a real tough nut to crack on Saturday. They have been up and down with their results, but we know that they are more than capable of going on a run and changing their fortunes and League position.

“We respect every single opponent we face on a weekly basis, and this week has been no different. We have done our due diligence, we have had our scouts out and we went through everything with the players before training and will go into the game giving them utmost respect and knowing that we will have to perform at the highest possible level to get a positive result.”