Fitter, sharper – Bognor Regis Town get in shape for relegation battle

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Fitter players with increased desire and renewed sharpness will help the Rocks as they battle to claw themselves away from the Isthmian premier division drop zone.

That's the verdict of Rocks bosses Michael Birmingham and Jamie Howell as they prepare bottom-of-the-table Bognor for the away game at Cray Valley PM on Saturday.

The Nyewood Lane outfit were left frustrated when the home game against Hashtag United was frozen off last weekend, denying them the chance to build on the superb 4-3 victory at Dulwich the week before.

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And with maintaining impetus in mind, the Rocks went to Isthmian League South East Division Steyning Town on Tuesday for a friendly and promptly walloped the hosts 6-0.

The Rocks in friendly action at Steyning on Tuesday night | Picture: Trevor StaffThe Rocks in friendly action at Steyning on Tuesday night | Picture: Trevor Staff
The Rocks in friendly action at Steyning on Tuesday night | Picture: Trevor Staff

Tommy-Lee Higgs and Ollie Starkey each bagged braces and further goals form Jasper Mather and Chad Field handed the visitors the victory and a morale-boost going into the clash in London.

And Birmingham's take on the romp was that it was a worthwhile exercise as he and Howell try to impose their ideas on the squad after taking over from Robbie Blake in December.

He said: “We thought it was important to play a friendly after Saturday's game was off. Even though it was a pain with the game being off, it probably did us a world of good after the win at Dulwich Hamlet.

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“We had players carrying knocks and so the Steyning game was a great fitness test and we are looking fitter, we are looking sharper. We still have a lot of room to improve but Rome wasn't built in a day was it?

Friendly action at Steyning | Picture: Lyn PhillipsFriendly action at Steyning | Picture: Lyn Phillips
Friendly action at Steyning | Picture: Lyn Phillips

"We had good patterns, a good shape and I thought we were in total control from the first minute until the last. If anything, we are still a little bit too nice in possession and we need to be more cutting."

Howell agreed and cited another opportunity to implement tactical tweaks as the Rocks set about a tough task of grabbing enough points to stay in the league.

He added: "We take momentum from the game after the Hashtag game was called off. I thought we played really well some of the patterns we have been working on in training are coming through and it was a good performance and we can't wait to try to put that into practice when we pay Cray on Saturday -- we are really looking forward to it."

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