‘More confident in the side’ – Hand upbeat despite Littlehampton Town’s tricky start
It's proving a tough start to the season for Littlehampton Town – with an FA Cup exit coming amid three Isthmian South Central defeats.
But joint boss Mitch Hand could see clear signs of progress from his team in Tuesday night's home derby with Bognor – despite a 1-0 loss.
It was a fourth straight defeat, following on from a 3-1 FA Cup preliminary round loss at Cobham on Saturday.
Dion Jarvis put the Golds ahead in the first half at Cobham but the hosts went through thanks to three goals in the second half.
That followed league defeats at Southall – where Lateef Oladokun scored his second in two – and at home to Westfield, when Marcel Powell gave them an early lead only for the visitors to win with three goals after the break.
The derby with Bognor on Tuesday night was goalless until the 78th minute when the Rocks nabbed a winner through Ollie Lovell.
Hand, keen to improve on last season’s brush with relegation, said: “This is going to sound strange, but I’m more confident in the side now than I was this time last year when we’d won our first few games.
“We’ve got good players that are starting to gel now and you can see improvement in every game.
“The performance on Tuesday night against Bognor was exactly as we wanted – we controlled possession, created chances and were really organised in general play.
“One mistake cost us but the margins are so fine in derbies like that.
“I’m gutted for the players and supporters because ultimately points and bragging rights are the be-all and end-all in derbies.
“But selfishly as a manager I needed to see a performance that shows what we need to look like week in week out, as the first two league games were poor.
“You’ve got to take your licks in football and we’ve had plenty of good times versus Bognor in recent years – but this one was their turn.
“We had nearly 1,000 fans through the gate on a Tuesday night – a proper rivalry and that’s what footballs all about.”
They host Raynes Park Vale in the first qualifying round of the FA Trophy on Friday night. Winchester City visit The Sportsfield for an Isthmian South Central clash next Tuesday.