Horsham FC boss: I just want eight or nine games where we put out the best team we possibly can

Those were the words of Horsham FC manager Dominic Di Paola ahead of tomorrow’s visit to AFC Totton.

The Hornets have been ravaged by injuries since December, curtailing the club’s unlikely National League South play-off push. Horsham, in 12th, trail seventh-placed Maidstone United, who occupy the final play-off spot, by six points and have two games in hand.

This weekend sees the Hornets travel to 14th-placed AFC Totton, who beat the Hornets 2-0 back in September.

And Di Paola revealed his ‘sole focus’ this week hadn’t been Horsham’s trip to Hampshire – but trying to get the club out of a ‘constant state of injuries’.

He said: “I tipped Totton for the play-offs to be fair when we played them earlier in the season. I thought they were really good but they sort of dropped off a cliff and now they’re having a bit of a resurgence – as a lot of teams seem to do in this league. It’s going to be another tough game.

“But before the end of the season I just want eight or nine games where we put out the best team we possibly can. And I’m not being dismissive of the boys who are starting at the moment, I just want to give them some help.

“That’s my sole focus at the moment. It’s not the opposition. Before the season’s out I don’t want to be in this constant state of injuries. We’ve been in it for three months now. I feel like it’s time for a shift in our luck in that respect.

“But it does go that way. Last year it all went our way so we won the league. And I’ve had this before.

“I’ve managed nearly 900 games now so I’ve come up against this stuff so many times now – but it doesn’t make it any more frustrating. You feel like you can do a lot better.”

Di Paola did, however, have some positive injury news going into tomorrow’s game. The Hornets boss hoped to have three players back by the end of next week – but one key man was a doubt for Totton.

He added: “I think [Danny] Barker might be back this Saturday, which is good. I reckon Lucas [Rodrigues] might be back next Tuesday or Saturday, and [Charlie] Hester-Cook could be on the bench from next Tuesday.

“I don’t know how Meeky [Reece Myles-Meekums] is to be honest. We should never have played him really [against Southend United] but we had to.

“There’s a few to come back in there and that’ll make a huge difference. It will give us a huge lift as a group.”

One player who won’t feature again for Horsham this season is striker Soul Kader, who saw his loan deal terminated.

The 22-year-old joined the Hornets on loan from League Two outfit Bromley in January but made just three appearances for the club.

Kader’s stint at Horsham came to a premature end after he suffered a torn hamstring in last month’s 1-1 home draw with Dagenham & Redbridge.

Di Paola said: “I massively appreciate Bromley cancelling the deal. We don’t have to pay for him so it’s a very classy thing to do.

“They could have just made us pay for him until the end of the season, so the fact they have done that for a smaller club shows what a class act they are.

“That’s helped with the finances because we were paying him and we’ve not really got anything out of it! He’s come on for 20 minutes and then he’s torn his hamstring. You couldn’t make it up!

“But we’re really grateful to Bromley for cancelling the deal and not making us honour the rest of the loan, which is good for our finances.

“We wish him well. I’d like to get him back maybe once he’s fully fit. There’s a player in there but we never saw it!

“He’s got another year at Bromley so maybe we can do something in the summer and get him in if Bromley are willing to give it another go.”