Widdrington keeping the faith – and his cool – as Eastbourne Borough’s battle intensifies

Supporters – and reporters – can only watch from a distance, but Tommy Widdrington is as close to the action as the touchline and the fourth official will permit – and the Gaffer remains positive and purposeful. Last Saturday’s trip to title-chasers Hornchurch brought a 0-2 defeat, but an encouraging Borough performance.

“I’ve got to take a lot of positives out of that performance,” Widdrington said. “Hornchurch are a well organised strong side, and they are at the top of our division for a reason. I’ve watched a game today where we showed that we could compete, with the best in this division, in many facets of the game.

“But we have to keep the ball out of our net, it’s as simple as that. These are fine margins. At 0-0 we’ve had a strong penalty shout. We’ve hit the bar in the second half and we’ve had another one cleared off the line.

“These will sound like hard luck stories – but remember this group of lads had one training session together. So I’m going to take the positives. We took the game to Hornchurch – they’ve had to alter their shape to stop us coming forward.

“I’m really positive about what we did today. If I were an alien dropping in on that game, I’d never have told the difference between the two teams!”

Widdrington is clearly grounded and confident about the coming weeks, with a squad which is finally beginning to mirror the manager’s blueprint.

“I’m confident that we are beginning to build in the right way,” he added. “There are now more players in the squad whom I have brought in, than players I inherited.” The starting line-up in Essex included three new signings – all of whom impressed.

“I told the three new lads to come straight in and take the bull by the horns. Omotayo Gold (a powerfully built striker) gives us a totally different dimension. The other two boys (Lachlan Bird and Southampton loanee Will Armitage) slotted in well.

“We were cross with the two goals conceded, but we will discuss that within the squad and put it right. But on another day that is not a 2-0 game.”

Tomorrow (Saturday 24th) the Sports welcome Farnborough to the Connect Management Stadium. The Hampshire club, under long-standing manager Spencer Day, are usually a safe bet for mid-table, but they have been sliding down the slippery pole.

A six-pointer? Not for Tommy. “We are not at that stage yet. It only puts pressure on players. On Saturday there will only be three points available – with another eighteen games after that! We will approach Farnborough exactly as Hornchurch, but we will eradicate the little errors..”

The upcoming fixtures will be quite a proving ground for this squad.

Next Tuesday they visit Dagenham and Redbridge, once of League 2 and the National League but currently a seriously under-performing outfit. The following two weekends bring a crucial home match with floundering Enfield Town and a visit to Chesham, who seldom take prisoners. Between those fixtures the Sports head for Horsham YM on Tuesday 3rd February in the Senior Cup.

Supporters not travelling to Dagenham can watch the match live on the pay-per-view channel DAZN. The same channel has plans for live coverage of three forthcoming Priory Lane games.