Matt Pole is joined by Sussex sport guru Steve Bone and a very special guest. Eastbourne Borough manager Adam Murray.
Adam had a playing career that included an England under-20 appearance and spells with clubs including Derby County, Mansfield, Carlisle, Kidderminster Harriers, Torquay, Macclesfield and Oxford - before embarking on a managerial career that’s seen him in roles at Mansfield, Boston, Barnsley, AFC Fylde and Cheltenham - from where he joined Eastbourne as manager in January of this year.
He led the Sports to a memorable escape from National League South relegation and after a squad overhaul in the summer, now has Borough near the top of the table this time around.
Adam had a playing career that included an England under-20 appearance and spells with clubs including Derby County, Mansfield, Carlisle, Kidderminster Harriers, Torquay, Macclesfield and Oxford - before embarking on a managerial career that’s seen him in roles at Mansfield, Boston, Barnsley, AFC Fylde and Cheltenham - from where he joined Eastbourne as manager in January of this year.
He led the Sports to a memorable escape from National League South relegation and after a squad overhaul in the summer, now has Borough near the top of the table this time around.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Sussex Non-League Podcast where we take a look at all the latest
00:05goings on at grassroots football across the county. I'm Matt Pole and on this edition
00:10I'm joined by Sussex Sport guru Steve Bone and a very special guest. Steve and I are
00:14both delighted to be joined by Eastbourne Borough Manager Adam Murray. Adam had a playing
00:18career that included an England under-20 appearance and spells with clubs including Derby County,
00:23Mansfield, Carlisle, Kidderminster Harriers, Torquay, Macclesfield and Oxford before embarking
00:29on a managerial career that seen him in roles at Mansfield, Boston, Barnsley, AFC Fylde
00:33and Cheltenham from where he joined Eastbourne as manager in January of this year. He led
00:37the sport to a memorable escape from the National League South relegation and after a squad
00:41overhaul in the summer now has Borough near the top of the table this time around. First
00:45and foremost Adam thank you very much for joining us, how are you getting on? Yeah I'm
00:49good thanks, just getting ready for Friday morning training but all good. Excellent stuff
00:55and yes we've mentioned the fact that you previously had a managerial career in Football
01:01League club, was it difficult to leave the Football League club in Cheltenham and take
01:05up the Priory Lane job? It was a big decision yeah, I'm not going to lie to you it was a
01:13huge decision that I had to make. I was in a good place in terms of the role I was in
01:20and the projects we were on but after speaking to Simon and spending a lot of time, if I'm
01:25being honest, thinking over it and speaking with the family I just got a really good feel
01:30for the place and even though from the outside it didn't look great and the picture was a
01:35little bit gloomy I was always positive that the project was going to turn out successful
01:41so I took a little bit of a gamble and it was a little bit of leap of faith but so far
01:45it's worked out as planned. Adam were there times over the second half of last season
01:52where you thought actually we might be in trouble here or were you always confident
01:57that you could get the team over the line and you could stay up, that being the first
02:02thing you'd been brought in to do? No there was lots of times I had feelings like that
02:07and there's no point me saying it was all rosy. I think when you, I came in and I kind
02:13of knew what I was taking over, after a couple of weeks there was probably more work to do
02:19than I actually realised so normally you expect to get that manager balance for the
02:23first couple of weeks and you get a few results just through that sheer change but we didn't
02:29really get that. We changed a lot in terms of the playing style, personnel, the system,
02:36we changed a lot around the club and it actually took a little bit longer for us to kick into
02:41gear but there was a lot of hard work going in behind the scenes and I always knew if
02:46we could, the biggest thing for me was did we have enough time, we didn't have 30-40
02:52games to put it right, we were kind of on a stopwatch so my biggest battle was time
02:56and getting the messages across and getting the philosophy across as quick as we could
03:01and it did take a little bit longer than we expected but as soon as it did kick into gear
03:06we went on an unbelievable
03:16then the whole mood changed and everything stayed positive from there.
03:22You've done a lot of work on and with the squad over the post-season, who would you say your two
03:27or three key signings so far, Adam?
03:30We've basically got a new squad so I think it's really tough to pick out two or three
03:36individuals. We knew in the summer it needed an overhaul, we had a handful of players that
03:43performed really, really well at the end of last season and we felt in a new environment
03:49and a new way of doing things they could grow and prosper within what we were doing
03:53but we literally went out and signed kind of double figures new players so we are looking
03:59at a new squad and it's a little bit like last season when I came in, even though we've
04:03had a good start and we're happy where we are, there's still so much more to come from
04:07this squad because for me personally we haven't even kicked into full gear yet so to pick
04:13two or three out would be really tough because I honestly believe we've had some top recruitment.
04:18What we're trying to do now is find what's the best way to put these new players together
04:25to get the best outcome because obviously it's like making a cake, you put loads of
04:29ingredients in, sometimes your first cake don't taste very nice so you have to go back
04:33in the kitchen and get cooking again so we're still in the cooking phase, I've still got
04:38my chef's hat on but we've managed to pick up points as we're doing that which is a bonus
04:44but we do feel that there's much more to come from this group which is only a positive.
04:50Adam, the club's ambition is clearly to go higher than National League South,
04:56you want to get into the National League Premier and maybe longer term even higher,
05:02is promotion the clear aim this season and if so, as things stand at the moment,
05:09how realistic an ambition is that for this season?
05:12Yeah, most definitely. I think I wouldn't have come here if the expectations weren't
05:16anything else. I think the aim last season was to obviously stay up but then my thing to Simon
05:24was if we achieve that, I want to be able to challenge at the other end of the table next
05:29season otherwise for me personally, career-wise, it's not worth doing and Simon was fully on board
05:37with that notion and it's everything he wants so that's our target this season. It's not going to
05:43be that easy, I wish it was. We think we've done really well in our recruitment and we think we're
05:48in a strong place but the league and one thing I've found about non-league is there's so many
05:55levelers and there's so many things that you come across each week that levels the playing field
06:00and that can be a lot of teams change tactics, shape, gamely and literally week by week so you
06:08don't really know what you're going into which is always hard to plan for. I think at the higher
06:12levels, you get more teams with a set way of playing so it is actually a little bit easier
06:18to plan for. Sometimes you're turning up to grounds where you can't play the style you want to play so
06:24you have to adjust and go the opposite which can sometimes throw a curveball in. So it's not
06:30as plain sailing as we've got some really good players and we feel like we play a good style of
06:34football so that means we're going to walk the league. We've seen already that and I said it in
06:38pre-season, this league this season especially is going to be super tight to the end and I think
06:43you're seeing it now. There's so many teams in that top eight that are kind of two or three points
06:49off top so I honestly believe it'll be that close all season just because there's a lot of clubs in
06:55this league that have gone out over the summer and signed three or four players that you go
06:59decent signings that there's a big handful of teams that I look at that go you'll have a chance
07:05of being in there but on the flip side of it I don't think there's one team that you look at and
07:09go they're going to do a yovel and absolutely run away with it. So yeah our aim is to be up there
07:15and it's going to be a long battle, it's going to be a roller coaster. We've seen already we
07:21had 45 minutes on Saturday where we were nowhere near our performance levels and we got punished
07:26for it. Second 45 we were outstanding and we won that half and we probably should have scored
07:31five or six in the second half but the damage was already done so it was a big wake-up call for us
07:37that just because we've recruited well and we're a full-time team you can't just turn up and expect
07:44to win. It's way more complicated and tougher than that and we have to be more than anybody on our
07:50metal every week because being the club that people know we've got big ambitions we've got
07:57a target on our back then and we have to deal with that. Yeah it's a big game for teams when
08:02they play you isn't it. Adam I think we'll go on to talk a bit more about the national
08:08south in a minute but we've mentioned Simon Leslie a couple of times. We had Simon Leslie
08:12on the podcast last season and we asked him about you and he was very sort of complimentary about
08:18what you were doing but I remember he described you as it was like watching a mad professor
08:25working which I think he meant in a good way you know he meant you were trying to
08:29sort of wave your arms around and manage 12 different things at once. So to put the boot
08:35on the other foot what's it like working with Simon Leslie? How do you get on with him?
08:41Is it a good working relationship that you've got? Yeah it's fantastic. We're super close.
08:47We have been from day one. I think Simon oozes that it's hard not to get on with him.
08:55He's got a massive heart and he's got a real passion and desire not just for the football
09:00club but with everything he does and I know he wants to create great things for this football
09:06club but for Eastbourne in general which is a big project to take on board and I speak to him
09:13regularly and he's fully kind of behind and he's jumped into everything with two feet and our
09:21relationship is great in terms of that. We're both on the same page. We both understand where
09:27we're at and what we're trying to achieve. Obviously sometimes as an owner you get sucked
09:34into the football world and emotions take over good and bad and you win a few games and you're
09:40going to win the Champions League and you lose a game and you're going to get relegated to
09:43grassroots so that's the journey and obviously Simon is a new owner. He's new to managing a
09:50football club so obviously he had a lot of probably tough lessons last season but I imagine
09:55he's come out the other side better for it and I've seen a change in him in the short time
10:00that I've worked with him in terms of how he's going about his business at the football club
10:06but one thing I've said to him is just make sure football doesn't change the person
10:12you are because I think that the person he is is unique to football and that's what makes
10:17not just him but what he's trying to do special and that has to stay in the forefront.
10:24Absolutely and as Steve mentioned we're now going to take a look at how our clubs are getting
10:29across the non-league pyramid and start with the National League South. We've not just got East
10:33Bourneborough, Flying Flagler, Sussex but we've also got Worthing. Steve, how have the sports and
10:38the Reds been getting on since we last spoke? We're now 10 games into the league season
10:44and if you thought at the start of the season that after 10 games we'd know what we're looking
10:49at the rest of the season, well good luck with that because it's no clearer really.
10:54As Adam has alluded to, if you look at the table, Hummel Hempstead are top with 21 points,
11:01Dorking Wanderers are 12th and there are only two wins behind them, only 15 points.
11:05So in that top group, happy to say that East Bourneborough and Worthing are both
11:11holding their own and doing well. Barra, I think I'm right in saying that, they're second for a
11:16little while, actually after that defeat at Chelmsford last weekend you're down to 8th
11:20but you're still only three points off top spot. Equally Worthing, I think after they lost to
11:25Maidstone last weekend was 16th, they're now 10th because they had a good win against Welling
11:31in midweek. So Worthing 10th with 16, East Bourne 8th with 18, both right on the fringes of the
11:38play-off zone and right in there. It's the team that has a good October-November now and puts
11:45together maybe six wins out of eight. They will probably be top at the end of November
11:50and you'd say that East Bourneborough and Worthing are both among the contenders to do that.
11:55Adam, I was going to say, I know you haven't played Worthing this season but do you see them
11:59as one of the teams that are probably going to be keeping pace with hopefully yourselves and
12:04the other top teams in the division?
12:06Yeah, definitely. I think they had a great season last season which led to their manager
12:12getting a good move but I think they've replaced him very smartly. I think the new manager that's
12:19gone in fits the profile of the club, it fits the style of play. We played him in one of my
12:24first games when he was at Hastings last season and I sat down with him after the game and
12:29complimented him on his style because I really enjoyed playing against it.
12:36They'll be a team that's up there, they dominate the ball very well and I imagine they'll be in
12:42the group chasing to get out of the league again. We had someone at the game on Tuesday watching,
12:47obviously we're playing Welling tomorrow so we've had a lot of eyes on. When you're coming up
12:54watching your opposition you end up crossing over with a lot of teams so we've seen a fair
12:59bit of working in. They'll 100% be over. You mentioned, Adam, the fact that you've
13:06brought in a double-figure amount of players. Is the fact that you've brought that in and you're
13:11doing so well really heartening because I know that it can be quite difficult to get a team to
13:15gel when you've brought that many players in and as well to be able to get your style of football
13:21across to them. You must be ever so pleased off the back of that.
13:25I'll be honest with you, it's been really strange. Obviously we've been really pleased that we've
13:28managed to pick points up but at the same time it's been really frustrating because obviously I
13:33get to see them every day so I see how good, not just how good they are as individuals,
13:38but how good they are together as a group. Sometimes when you're going into games you're
13:43still waiting for little bits to click, you're waiting for relationships to gel and you can't
13:47rush that process. It is just time. You can do as much work as you want but you are just relying
13:53on time for relationships to click in. It's been great that we've picked up points and we're happy
14:00with the position we're in but it's also been frustrating because I know how much there is
14:06still left in the tank and obviously as a manager I want it out ASAP. Unfortunately I can't squeeze
14:14that out of them. That's a matter of time. Who's the toughest side you've faced so far
14:20this season, Adam, in National League South? I'd probably have to say Chelmsford on Saturday and
14:27again it was so frustrating because we'd had a weekend off without any games so we'd literally
14:34had a two-week build-up. For me and my staff and we fought for the players, it was the clearest
14:40we'd felt in a game plan. It was the clearest we'd been in terms of knowing what was coming from the
14:45opposition. We felt we were set up to exploit their weaknesses and manage their
14:53strengths and for 45 minutes it all went absolutely totally the opposite. That's the beauty of
15:00non-league football. Sometimes you think you know what's coming and then you get a
15:06right punch on the chin. I'd say Sackley was our toughest opponent because they'd been on a
15:11great run already before they played us and they were obviously super confident at home and
15:16for the first 30 minutes of that game they blew us away. Sometimes you have to hold your
15:20hands up, don't you, and credit the opponent and that was definitely one of them cases.
15:25Absolutely. We're now going to take a look at the ISMU in Premier. Lewis remained top of the table
15:29but as Adam mentioned, you do get a punch in the face sometimes in non-league football and
15:33they certainly got that in their last league game. Meanwhile, near neighbours Chichester City and
15:38Bognor having vastly contrasting seasons. Steve Bone, how are our six Sussex sides getting on at
15:44step three? If you were to look back at our pre-season
15:49podcast, I can't quite remember what we said about the ISMU in Premier sides but I'm fully sure we
15:55would not have predicted what's happened so far. I think we said Lewis might struggle,
16:04they're top, point clear of Billa Ricci at the top, Chichester City doing much better than most
16:09people thought, maybe even better than they thought themselves. They're eighth and doing
16:14really well. The surprise is the three teams that you see if you look down to just below halfway,
16:21Hastings, Horsham and Bognor are all struggling for consistency so far. Horsham have got a couple
16:27of games in hand than most other clubs so maybe we shouldn't judge them in quite the same way but
16:32Hastings and Bognor have both been getting the odd good result but then they lose a couple after
16:37that which has left us with Hastings 13th, Horsham 15th, Bognor 18th, Whitehawker and that little
16:44group as well in the 14th, room for improvement for all of those and they'll be looking at Lewis
16:50and Chichester a little bit enviously at the moment. A lot of games have been played, they've
16:55only played seven, eight, nine games but that division, it's always hard to predict but I think
17:00this year is even harder than normal to predict so yeah, interesting to see how it goes from there.
17:07I was just going to ask Adam, have you seen, do you get to many Step 3 games? Do you ever watch
17:12any of the Sussex sides in the Espion Premier? We've got some good contacts in kind of all of
17:21the lower end of the pyramid that we've took a lot of players from. We've done, especially last
17:27season, we did some really good recruitment bringing in players from that level and we've
17:31brought a couple in this season so we're really aware of how strong the level is and
17:37we had a good couple of friendlies this pre-season. We played Lewis pre-season and
17:42actually before we went into that game, I spoke to a manager that had watched them in pre-season and
17:46said I don't feel they're that strong and this is what they go about. We played them and we were
17:51surprised because they were a really strong outfit and we said after the game they'll be
17:56there or thereabouts this season. I do think in the level below, there's not much difference to
18:05our level. You've probably got a handful of teams at the top of the table that might step away
18:11but it's a really, really close standard. Absolutely, I think it was at Hornchurch
18:17and Enfield who went up last season. Have you played either of them yet this season?
18:21Both of them, yeah. We played Chesham first game, we played Hornchurch, we played Enfield,
18:27all really, really tough games. We had Chesham here first game and we drew 1-1. I think we must
18:33have had about 80% possession of the football but they were that organised that we couldn't
18:38break them down. For me, I give a lot of credit to these guys, especially the coaches that are
18:45part-time and only get time with the players on a Tuesday and a Thursday. I don't know how to do it,
18:50I couldn't do it. I tried it at Boston, it's not for me. For me, I have to be on the grass as
18:57much as I can with the players. So, these guys that are doing it and being successful,
19:01for me, I take my hat off to them. Absolutely. Meanwhile, in the Eastman
19:06South East, one of our sides is hot on the heels of the playoffs but another two occupy spaces in
19:11the relegation zone. How have our teams been performing in this division, Steve?
19:16It's still quite early days for the Eastman South East because we've had this thing where
19:21some of the teams in that division have been playing a league game one week and then
19:24FA Cup, FA Trophy or whatever the following week. So, you've still got a big disparity
19:29between you've got Herne Bay who have only played four league games, for example. So,
19:32it's hard to look at the table and kind of work out who's where. But a few things to pick out for
19:38Sussex. Burgess Hill, as we predicted on this podcast, I think we said they'd do well and they
19:43are doing well so far. Five wins out of seven for them so far. Made some good signings early in the
19:48closed season, as we know. Brought in some step three players as well and that's paying off so
19:54far. So, they're the top Sussex side in that division at the moment. They're in sixth.
20:00Eastbourne Town are doing quite well after promotion from the SCFL last season. They're
20:04in tenth and then you've got a lot of our sides a little bit below halfway but not out of touch at
20:12all. People like Walbridge Heath, East Grinstead, Fruitbridges and Stelling are a little further
20:17down. The two with a bit more work to do than the others at the moment are Littlehampton and
20:22Lansing. Both in the bottom four as we speak and I think it is four down this year. So,
20:28they'll need to be aware of that. Littlehampton, not quite the same time but they've only played
20:34six games. Lansing have played more. Lansing have got a new manager and a lot of new players who
20:40maybe just take a little bit of time to bed in together and get used to
20:44life together. But it's still relatively early days. We haven't played as many games as you would
20:50expect us to by mid-October, I don't think yet. So, another month or so, by the time we do another
20:58podcast, we'll have a clearer idea of who's looking up and who's looking over their shoulders a little
21:02bit. Fingers crossed Lansing turn it around because otherwise I feel that's another team
21:06I've put the kiss of death on, Steve. I think I predicted them to do quite well.
21:11They'll be round to blame you. I'm making predictions I think would be the smartest
21:16thing to do for me. One unbeaten still remains in the SCFL Premier, sorry as two neighbours duke
21:22it out at the top of the division. Who's setting the pace, Steve, and who's struggling at the foot
21:26of the table? Yeah, still as last time, it's still the two mid-Tussock sides, Hussocks and
21:32Hayward Heath going toe-to-toe at the top. And they've actually opened up a little gap
21:37now, a gap of four points between those two and the next team down.
21:42Both have won nine out of 11 so far. Hussocks have actually topped by one point
21:46because they are unbeaten. Nine wins, two draws from their 11 games, which is a terrific
21:51effort. They're not the biggest club in the division. They have practically zero budget.
21:58They got to the playoffs last year and lost and showing that was no flash in the pan really.
22:05They're doing really well so far. Hayward Heath, I think I saw the Hayward Heath manager tweet
22:09in midweek that they just got their 16th clean sheet of the season, which is amazing really.
22:15They've let in four goals in their 11 league games so far. It wouldn't be a surprise to see
22:21those two teams sort of stay at the top there and continue to do well. The teams below them
22:27include Crawley Down, Prece Haverland and Towscombe, and Cobra. Always strong sides in
22:35that division. So they'll be looking to sort of making rates as well. At the other end of the
22:41table, the struggles so far include Stockton, Shaw and Linfield. And I'm afraid Broughton at
22:47the moment, and actually Broughton got a few points, are Little Common. Adam, I just wanted
22:52to ask you about Little Common because you played them in the Classic Senior Cup the other night.
22:56You won, I think, fairly comfortably and came through 3-0. Did Little Common look like a team
23:03who should be bottom of a division in Step 5? No, I mean, like we do every game, we did our
23:10homework on them and I think we watched four of the previous games and we were surprised they were
23:16in the position they were in. Obviously, you could when we started the game, we knew they'd be a
23:21little bit low on confidence. And to be fair, for that picture, we weren't quite strong in terms of
23:26our personnel because we wanted to look at a few things and get minutes into a few players that
23:31were coming back from injury. And we actually found it really hard to break them down and we
23:37ended up scoring three goals. But it's not as if they were a team that had kind of downed tools
23:42and had given up. There was a lot of fight in there. The organisation was very good. And sometimes
23:46when you're in a moment like that, you just need a break. You just need a little bit of look and
23:50you can change it all around.
23:53Yeah, they did well last season. They were mid-table last season, I think. So, I'm sure they
23:56will pick up on that. They'll be encouraged to hear that from you, I'm sure.
24:03Absolutely. And then speaking of cup competitions, last weekend saw Severn and Sussex side
24:08compete in the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy. And the Wembley Dream lives on for four
24:13of those clubs who discovered their first-round fates on Monday. Who advanced to the next round,
24:17Steve, and who will they face in the next round?
24:20Yes, we've got four teams, four Sussex teams in the next round, with, of course, we should say
24:25Worthing and East Bournemouth still to come into the draw at a later stage. I think they come in
24:29the round after this. But we've got Lewis, probably had the most favourable draw in the first-round
24:35quad for the trophy. The game is taking place on 26th October, by the way, on that. So, Lewis are
24:41at home to Ashford United, who are a step below them in the Eastbourne League. Hastings United
24:46also playing a Step 4 team, but it's away to Hadley, who I think are Southern League, Step 4.
24:53And that's a little bit of a trip into the unknown for Hastings, so that could be tricky.
24:58Horsham are playing an all-Step 3 game, an all-this-mean-probably game away to Clovelly
25:03Island. And long, old trip for Chichester City, which is the same one that Worthing are making
25:09in the FA Cup tomorrow. They're going all the way down to Plymouth Parkway, who are also Step 3.
25:15So, nice to have four teams in there. We had three teams, Bogner, Whitehawk and Hempton,
25:20all dipped out of the trophy last weekend. But perhaps just a quick question to Adam on this
25:26as well, Adam. The FA Trophy will soon be coming Eastbourne Borough's way. Big competition for
25:33clubs at your sort of level, isn't it? A real chance of decent prize money and a bit of glory
25:37and a bit of excitement on the road to Wembley? Yeah, most definitely. We set out this season
25:43in all cup competitions, we wanted to treat them with, one, the utmost respect to go and try and
25:52win it. And we were really disappointed that we came out of the FA Cup early. I do feel we probably
25:58had the hardest draw in that round in getting Boreham Wood. So, for the trophy for us, it's
26:04another opportunity to go on a bit of a cup run and give our supporters something to get excited
26:11about as well as the league. And also, it helps the club and it'll help Simon if we can get a
26:16little bit more revenue in through the cup competition. So, yeah, we're looking forward
26:20to it and I'm sure it'll be as entertaining as ever. Absolutely. And as Steve mentioned,
26:28it's FA Cup this Saturday. Horsham and Worthingworth battling it out for a hallowed place
26:33in the first round proper of the FA Trophy. The Hornets host Eastbourne North outfit Galston,
26:38while, as Steve said, the Reds make the long trip to Plymouth Parkway. How do you rate both
26:43sides' chances of winning, Steve? I personally think, and again, this is probably going to put
26:48the kiss of death in this because my predictions are always rubbish. We've got high chances.
26:52Okay, I'll just leave it to you then. How do you think they're both going to get on?
26:56They should both win, shouldn't they, really? That's what you were going to say, isn't it?
27:01We're both playing sides from one step lower, but it's the FA Cup. Every round of the FA Cup,
27:09every year, there are surprises and there are shots and there are teams that you have no right
27:14to win actually winning. I'm going to nail our colours to the master on their behalf and say
27:28they're both going to get through it. Horsham are having a similar season to last season in that
27:35they're simply playing more cup games than league games. You speak to Dom every week,
27:40don't you, Horsham? How's he feeling about that at the moment? Is that a concern for him that it
27:46could harm the league? Yeah, Dom's very good in the sense that he's taking one game at a time,
27:53so he's not really thought that far ahead yet. It just seems strange to me that we were only
27:57just in October and they're already playing two games a week because, as we've mentioned,
28:02they won in the FA Trophy and on Tuesday they won in the Sussex Senior Cup again,
28:06them being the Sussex Senior Cup holders. So, the only worry I would have is that, as good as the
28:14cup runs were, I would have kind of liked to see them prioritise the league this year, but you can
28:18never take away from the fact how much the publicity and the prize money does for the
28:22club in this situation. And if they get a home or a way draw, I don't know, against the Birmingham
28:28City in the first round of the cup after winning this, again, financially very, very lucrative.
28:33But, yeah, Dom's taking a game at a time and, yeah, I'm just going to come out and say I think
28:39Horsham and Worthing should both win their game. So, congratulations on that and you're making it
28:45to the first round, I think, we're going as far as to say. And as customary, finally, for our
28:51Monday podcast, Steve and I will pick our game of the week when we select a fixture involving the
28:56Sussex club that we think we should keep an eye out for. Steve Bowne, what have you gone for this
29:01week? I feel I should go for Welling against Eastbourne Borough because we've got one as a
29:05guest tonight. It's obviously a big game and we wish Borough well for that one. But I'm actually
29:09going to pick out the big game in the Esmeen Premier. It's Busts against second at the
29:14Dripping Pen. Tomorrow, Lewis against Billericcy. Lewis will be four points clear at the top if they
29:21win that, which is a great position to be in, especially with people like us sort of
29:26writing them off before the season began. So, it'll be a big crowd in the Dripping Pen. There's
29:30going to be a big crowd down there for the men's games and the women's games as well. The women
29:34there have started to pick up as well, which is good. So, yeah, if you're in the area down there,
29:39there's no Brighton game or anything in the Premier League tomorrow. So,
29:44get down there if you can. It should be a cracker.
29:47Absolutely. I've also gone for the Esmeen Premier, but at the other end of the table,
29:52Bogner at home to Canvey Island. Bogner 18th, Canvey 19th. Bogner just one point clear of the
29:58drop zone and Canvey, but having played a game more. Yeah, it's been a bit of a disappointing
30:04start to the season for Bogner. I don't think I could be wrong for saying that, Steve.
30:09No, you're right. They would not have expected to be down there. They've had terrible luck with
30:13injuries. They've had some... Every injury they seem to get is to a key player. They've had people
30:18like Greg Robson, Lucas Patton and Ben Anderson are injured. Of course, they're goalie to injury
30:24at the start of the season. I think when they get their full squad or something like it back,
30:28they will climb that lead. But these next two weekends, I think they're at home,
30:32just sides around them at the bottom. So, they need to start getting points on the board.
30:37Absolutely. A must-win game for them on Saturday. Adam, I know that you've mentioned it,
30:41but in case people didn't know, what are we from Barra up to on Saturday?
30:46Yeah, we make the trip to Welling. Another big game for us. There's not many
30:51fixtures in our league this week because of the Cup. So, I think if we can get a result tomorrow,
30:57I think it actually puts us joint top. So, it's a good opportunity for us. Again,
31:02a really tough game. Welling are obviously chasing a win at the minute and with no Football League
31:09games, we're expecting a decent crowd there as well. So, there'll be a good atmosphere.
31:13But I'm quite single-focused when it comes to match day in terms of we put the focus on us.
31:22And I honestly believe if we're right in what we do and we turn up, we're a match for anybody. So,
31:28it'll be no different tomorrow.
31:30Absolutely. Well, brilliant. Thank you very much for joining us, Adam.
31:33No problem.
31:33Best of luck, not only on Saturday, but for the rest of the season.
31:36And thank you very much for joining me, Steve, as ever. And don't forget at sussexworld.co.uk
31:40forward slash sport and our newspapers are the best place to get your Sussex non-league coverage.
31:45Thank you very much for listening and watching and we will see you when we see you.
31:50Cheers, guys. Thank you.
31:52Thank you, Adam.
31:53Thanks, Adam.