Belief coursing through Eastbourne Borough veins – King’s revolution is moving fast
As the Eastbourne Borough faithful dispersed on Tuesday into a chilly dark night, there were broad smiles, backslapping - and belief. The Sports had just extended their current run to 14 wins in 15 games, with a victory over visitors Stanway Rovers.
You have to hand it to Steve King. Less than eight months into the job that he has long coveted, he has won admiration as well as a lot of football matches, and he has simply transformed the mood at Priory Lane.
Back in the spring, supporters literally could not wait for last season to finish. Managers piling failure upon failure. Players arriving and departing before we had even ;earned their names - and a sense of malaise across the club.
Now, the Sports are motoring - jostling for position at the head of a very competitive Isthmian Premier division. A long winter and demanding fixture schedules will test the mettle of all the leading clubs, and the simple policy at this stage is to stay with the pace-setters.
With a relentless Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday schedule, Steve takes his squad to North Kent tomorrow (Saturday) to face another of the contenders, Dartford. Realistically, the Sports will drop some points at some stage - but even when they do, Borough will not be knocked off course. Why? Because this Eastbourne squad is built on experience.
King's close-season business showed us the plan. The squad has been built around a core of players with massive experience at this level, and above.
Thirty-year-olds form the spine of the team, from goalkeeper through central defence and midfield, to wide players and strikers. Opponents glance at the team-sheet, and tremble. With names like Josh Rees, Darren McQueen, Liam Nash, Paul McCallum - they know they will be in for a tough ninety minutes.
And that team foundation also gives a platform for several gifted youngsters: Matt Hayden - wisely tied down with a new and longer contract - is proving one of the most exciting full-backs in non-league. Freddie Carter is a formidable presence. Arthur Grout is developing his sublime skills.
King's team-building is remarkable - and it is not random. The manager is - he will not mind the Herald saying it - a football obsessive. There is no such thing as a free evening in King's diary: he will be on the road to check out opponents, track player targets, catch up with the talk on the circuit.
If there were any doubters among the fans, those doubts are being dispelled. Last Saturday a huge crowd of over 1,750 revelled in a cracking contest with an excellent Ramsgate side - decided only in the last two minutes by two outstanding Shay Harrison strikes.
The smiles all round the ground, and the final-whistle roars, told their own story.
He's not the Messiah. But he's a very canny manager, and in a matter of months, he has transformed a football club.