While Tim O’Shea continues to settle into the manager’s seat at Cray Wanderers, the new boss faces almost the Easter from hell and should Cray happen to get maximum points they will blow the Isthmian title race wide open. 

It’s really been a baptism of fire for Neil Smith’s former number two, after Smith’s departure to be Scott Lindsey’s assistant at League One Crawley Town.

By the end of the season, the Wands will have faced four of the sides chasing promotion either automatic or through the Play Offs in his seven games in charge!

After losing to Jake LeBerl’s Dover Athletic, O’Shea’s side then stunned then leaders Billericay winning 2-0 in Essex at the New Lodge, thus sending Ady Pennock’s Dartford top, where they sit going into Easter and visit Flamingo Park on Monday after Cray go to third placed Horsham on Good Friday, who themselves sit just two points behind the Darts in third. 

“Do you think Neil phoned Scott about the job after looking at our fixtures rather than the other way round?” joked O’Shea in our first interview with the new Cray boss.

“At the beginning of the season, we did look at the fixtures and saw the so-called “big boys” at the end, we both hoped that we’d have enough points not to need too many!

“The remit at the start of the season, moving into Flamingo Park was to stay in the League first and foremost! As soon as we reached that we kept plugging away and we accumulated enough points to just keep us interested in the Play Offs – we had an outside chance and were hitting a little bit of form.”

“But once that was mathematically put to bed, the fixtures we have are the best fixtures to play in because, with all due respect, when you have a mid-table opponent, the games have a real end of season feel to them – I think even the players want the last whistle in the last game to go on holiday.” 

“But with the way the fixtures have come out, we have a say in who ends up winning it!”

In Cray’s last away game, they beat Billericay 2-0 away with goals from Soul Kader and Nyren Clunis denting the Essex side’s hopes and now they go to third placed Horsham on Friday before hosting leaders Dartford on Monday!

“Every side at the top have had a blip,” O’Shea continued. “Horsham were a side who always seemed to have games in hand after a Cup run – I think they are a really good side!”

“The fact that in our last five games we get all three of them… I think it’s all to play for and I do think that we’ll have fans from Kent, Essex and Sussex thinking we’re in a bit of form and the side we’re playing could slip up and will be backing us over the weekend!” O’Shea joked. 

Reflecting on Smith’s sudden departure, O’Shea explained the timeline and said, “It was a surprise to me when Neil left. He had been approached before when Scott had his first spell at Crawley, but it was around the time we first went into Cray – he’d given his word to the board and wasn’t going to change his mind and stuck with it.”

“Scott and Neil are good friends and when Scott returned to Crawley, I had a feeling, but it was still a shock! Neil called me at 5.00pm on the Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, he was Crawley’s assistant manager.”

“When he told me, part of me wanted to say to him, “You’re joking, please don’t!” but I couldn’t be more pleased for him – he is a great character.”

“I have known him a very long time and it’s the chance of a lifetime for him to go back into full-time football and Scott has a good man there!” 

“The time since I took over has flown by – it’s been a busy period. It was only the other day when Mark Hunt – our media man (and KSN contributor) – said to me about it! There has been a lot going on behind the scenes, but weeks do seem to blur into one another!”

Picture supplied by Cray Wanderers.