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Bennos thoughts

Bennos thoughts

GAFC News19 Apr 2015 - 15:14
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Blues manager Mark Bentley gives us his thoughts as the season draws to an end.

I was so proud of the lads’ efforts in the final and believe we more than matched Hendon. Ultimately though for all the possession we had especially in the second half we couldn't finish off our chances and were punished by more clinical finishing.

The attitude of the players during the final was spot on and even when we went 2-0 and 3-1 down the lads never gave up.
Arguably we can come away from our two last games against Hendon and Maidstone the previous Saturday and say the best team lost.
Fair play to Jay Saunders at Maidstone he shook my hand after the game and said that they had "mugged" us with their win and we were the best side to play down there. Some of the football we played on the 3G was exceptional but for how well we played maybe our over playing at times has cost us due to getting caught in possession.

Against the lesser teams in the division you can possibly get away with a few individual errors, but you can't afford to do it against the top two!

We can sit and dwell on the last three games or we dust ourselves down and try to recreate the performances that have got
us in this position in the league. We must give everything in our last match of the season next week and make sure we come off the pitch with no regrets. It is pressure time for the lads as ultimately defeat will possibly finish off our season and I believe we have achieved too much for us not to go to Kingstonian next week with a chance of making the play offs!

With this being possibly my final notes of the season I would like to thank you the supporters for welcoming me as manager of this club and your continued support in our attempt to get the club back where it belongs up the league ladder.
Over the last few weeks we have seen increased attendances and - I speak on behalf of the players the atmosphere generated has been a
great help to get the lads through a tough schedule.

I would again like to thank Andy Swallow for this opportunity and his support. It's a new challenge for me but I have really enjoyed it and it's given me the confidence to build on this new start. Fingers crossed we can have some more positive news over the summer in regards to getting the new ground and moving the club forward.

Behind the scenes a big thanks to Glen, Dave, Jack and Rhino who have all played their part ensuring the squad has come together. I'm sure there are more people I need to thank but none more so than the
players themselves.
I can't take credit in bringing all the players in and some of whom Jody brought in at the beginning of the season so he certainly deserves some credit. What the squad has done since I took over however is really become united. Everyone gets on, there are no cliques and I have been fortunate with injuries and suspensions. They are growing and learning with each game and have a great mentality to want to succeed.
In the successful teams I played in over the years there were never much more than 20 players throughout the season, whereas teams
who have struggled went through 40-50 different players. When you can get a group of players who trust each other and are willing to work their socks every game I believe you won't be too far away from
success at this level.

Wherever we finish this season I hope we can look over this season as a successful one which has brought a bit of spark back to the club. It will be my job over the summer to try and keep as much of this squad together as possible so we can continue to build.

Let's get behind the lads on Saturday and finish off on a high.

Benno

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