With Cray Wanderers enjoying an impressive first season back in the Isthmian League Premier Division, First Team assistant manager Joe Vines was good enough to catch up with KSN to talk about life at The Wands and how they have established themselves back at Level 7 (step 3 in the non league pyramid)

First off Joe thanks for taking the time out to do this, as we do this piece Cray Wands are currently unbeaten in 2020 and sitting fifth in the table level on points with the two teams above.  I guess the big question is how have you tackled adapting to this level of football following promotion in April? 

I think that we have transitioned relatively well to the level after adding some new faces. We had a pretty good understanding of the league and the players but we have really struggled with a spate of unfortunate injuries during the first third of the season (we tend to address a season in thirds) that affected the results. Adding Lewis Carey, Charlie Allan, Rhys Murrell-Williamson and the emergence of Lee Lewis has been great from a personnel perspective but the process remains the same. Prepare well, analyse the performances, stay current with our knowledge of our opposition and play to our strengths whilst hiding our weaknesses.

Were there adaptations you had to make to the playing staff and style to be sure of competing in the Premier Division?

We are often accused of only having a “Plan A” because we play a passing style of football but I think we have certainly added new options to our repertoire.

Playing staff wise, we added fresh blood as mentioned having particular focus on the wide forward area and midfield areas. I think for the boys we moved on, who did great work for us, we have upgraded in our weaker areas now. We stick to the “Plan A”, we just do it better.

The season started with a couple of draws and a narrow loss to the league leaders, but The Wands soon found their feet with some big wins over established teams at this level 5-0 at home to Hythe Town and 5-1 at Bishop Stortford. There seems to be a real confidence in the squad and belief in the style of play, there must be a lot of research that goes into identifying players who will fit in with the footballing ethos of the management? 

I’ve been working in recruitment for the last 20 years so have a certain knack for identifying suitable talent in various businesses dependant on the needs of clients. Football is no different. Tony and I really clicked early on when I came to Cray under him as a player because I was already obsessed with opposition players and their strengths and weaknesses. Tony is obsessed with football. Nathan White is obsessed by football. We just feed off eachother and constantly discuss how we can improve, tweak and add any minuscule percentage that will give us an advantage. The devil is in the detail. 

Looking at the young players who are stepping up from the Under 18s when called upon, they all look to be comfortable with the ball and able to play in the required style. Is there a DNA that runs through the club’s under age sides that means they all play in a similar fashion?    

I can’t take any credit for the youth. Tony has implemented a whole youth section that has the same ethos as the first team. When you look at successful professional academies the focus is on a uniform approach so that any youngster stepping up can slot into the first team set up knowing the position and only having to worry about their teammates names. The perfect example is the U14s who are coached by Tony himself and Nathan who will most certainly produce players for the u18s and first team in the not too distant future. Winning should not be the sole focus, the emphasis is on tactical nous, understanding of responsibilities and technical excellence. We also train with the u18s to aid our preparation for matches.

You started your playing careers with The Wands and then went on to play at the top levels of the Non League game, is there a significant step up in the quality of football with every division and is it more demanding on the players? 

I managed to play up to Conference South and the major difference in levels was physicality and fitness for me. The other factors were preparation, recovery and the stresses and strains of the additional travel. Juggling a full time job and committing to football is hard for relationships, managing time and any progression in other areas of your life. There are always incremental changes and improvements in the levels.

When Cray Wands moved to Hayes Lane in 1998 they were a mid-table Kent League side and now with one season left before the move to Flamingo Park they are around the  play offs spots for promotion to National League South, it must be a fantastic time to be part of the club?

Cray is a great club, I feel very fortunate to be a part of an ambitious management team and the owners are all very supportive and have the same vision for the future that we do. I have played for Cray in the Kent League, Isthmian One North and South as well as Isthmian Premier and I would love to see little old Cray Wanderers compete with the big boys in the National South whether next year or in the future. 

Cray Wanderers will travel to East Thurrock United on Saturday as they look to solidify their current playoff position