Lewes boss Russell: League position irrelevant this time of year

The Rooks are flying high in second on 14 points, a point behind leaders Kingstonian, who have a game in hand, after an excellent week for the club.

Lewes picked up nine points from three games, hitting 11 goals in the process, as they put Enfield Town, Merstham and Brightlingsea Regent to the sword.

Joe Taylor, Taylor Maloney and Ollie Tanner in particular have impressed for the Rooks. The trio have netted eight goals between them in the last seven days.

But, despite a stellar week for Lewes, Russell’s feet remained firmly on the ground.

He said: “In terms of position, it really is irrelevant at this time of year. I’m not one to concentrate on anyone else and where they’re at and what they’re doing.

“We’ve got a running total in terms of points where we want to be per game, and we were behind that.

“But we’re a new side. It’s always going to take time but it looks like we’ve come out of that.

“The next two games, for instance, will tell us exactly where we are at.”

Lewes host two league games this week. The Rooks welcome FA Trophy holders Hornchurch to The Dripping Pan this Saturday, before Carshalton Athletic visit on Tuesday.

Russell predicted tough assignments against the Urchins and Robins, and was full of praise for Hornchurch in particular.

He said: “The next two games are two different tests. Hornchurch who have been together a long time, and they’re a very good side.

“They’re always there or thereabouts. They had a great run last year in the Trophy, they pick up good performances and they’re always in the top six.

“They’re everything that we’re not. They’ve got that togetherness, the manager has been there a long time, and we’re the complete opposite of that.

“We’re still trying to find out about each other, we’re still learning on the job, so we’ll see.

“What I do know is, we’ve got a good group of players that enjoy playing for the football club, and you can see now that they are trusting each other.”