BERKHAMSTED | EYES WIDE OPEN

We talk to manager, Steve Heath

Coming off the back of a heavy defeat at the hands of Coalville Town in the Pitching In Southern League Premier Central at the weekend, Berkhamsted manager, Steve Heath, feared the worst when his side fell two goals behind within the opening 17 minutes at home to Stratford Town on Tuesday evening.

But his young side displayed tremendous character and resolve to get back on level terms and in the end they were unlucky not to win the game as they shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

“There were circumstances surrounding Saturday’s game as we lost five players going into it, but it was still embarrassing and hurt like crazy,” Heath told us. “Obviously we went into Tuesday’s game with confidence low and with a few new faces who were thrown straight in.

“Stratford are a strong and powerful side, so when they went two goals up early on, it was only natural to start to think, ‘here we go again’.

“But, credit to the lads, because they showed real character and our confidence just grew and grew as the game went on.

“We got our goals at good times, either side of half-time, and in the end we could have won it as we had the better chances during the second half.

“The games come thick and fast at this level; there is no time to dwell on things and it was a case of picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves down and being ready to go again.

“We knew when we came into this League how tough it would be. We were only able to retain two of the players that got us here, so not only did we have to cope with the step up in standard, but we also had to do it by completely rebuilding the squad.

“This is an unforgiving level of football and there are going to be some tough days for us, the step up in standard has probably been even greater than I was expecting. There are some big clubs in this League who would be able to compete comfortably at Step 2, whereas we are a Step 4 club looking to establish ourselves at a higher level.

“That said, if you take away Saturday’s game and two 45 minutes against Mickleover and Leamington, we have competed in every game so far.

“We went into this season with our eyes wide open; we’re learning all of the time on and off-the-pitch and it’s a case of everyone sticking together.

“For me personally, this is my biggest challenge as a manager but I feel that if we can stay up this season, it will give us a great opportunity to really build going forward.

“We’ve got a good group of young players at the club who will get better and stronger as we go along; there are also a few experienced heads in there to help them on their way.

“We don’t want to have to keep rebuilding the team every summer, we want to build for the future.

“As with all young players, there will be mistakes along the way, we accept that, but the nature of this level means that they have to learn quickly and it will stand them in good stead in their development.”

Berkhamsted are back at home on Saturday with the visit of a Kettering Town outfit who are starting to find their feet after a slow start to the campaign.

“It’s another tough one and another big club,” added Heath. “I know their manager well and he will have them very well organised.

“It’s been a tough start for him, just like it’s been for us, but they are starting to find a bit of form. We’ll approach the game with determination as we always do.

“If we can build on the momentum from Tuesday night then we have half a chance of getting a positive result and adding to our points tally.”

IMAGE: Granty, Stratford Town FC

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