Mark Dunford is joined by Sussex sport guru Steve Bone and Littlehampton Town joint boss Mitch Hand. Mitch is well-known as one of the management duo - alongside George Gaskin - who led the Marigolds to Wembley for the 2022 FA Vase final, a truly memorable day for the club, their fans and the whole town.
Mitch spent roughly 99% of his playing career with Littlehampton before taking on the management role but also turned out for Wick, Worthing Utd, Hastings and Shoreham.
The international break may have been in full swing, but there are still plenty of Albion talking points to chew over.
We’ll bring you all the latest from Seagulls, including a preview to their Premier League trip to Bournemouth this Saturday, plus we'll bring you all the news from Crawley Town, who picked up a battling League One point at Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
Mitch spent roughly 99% of his playing career with Littlehampton before taking on the management role but also turned out for Wick, Worthing Utd, Hastings and Shoreham.
The international break may have been in full swing, but there are still plenty of Albion talking points to chew over.
We’ll bring you all the latest from Seagulls, including a preview to their Premier League trip to Bournemouth this Saturday, plus we'll bring you all the news from Crawley Town, who picked up a battling League One point at Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Right, here we go.
00:03Welcome to another episode of the Sussex Non-League Podcast,
00:06where we take a look at all the latest goings-on at grassroots football across the county.
00:10I'm Mark Dunford, and on this edition, I'm joined by Sussex sport guru Steve Bone and a special guest.
00:16Steve and I are both delighted to be joined by Littlehampton joint boss Mitch Hand.
00:20Mitch is well known as one of the management duo alongside George Gaskin,
00:24who led the Marigolds to Wembley for the 2022 FA VARS final,
00:29a truly memorable day for the club, their fans and the whole town.
00:33Mitch spent roughly 99% of his career playing with Littlehampton before taking on the management role,
00:38but also turned out for Wick, Worthing United, Hastings and Shoreham.
00:43So Mitch, thanks for joining us. How's the season been so far for Littlehampton?
00:49Sort of. It's been similar to the last couple, really. It's been a bit up and down.
00:54Struggle for consistency. But with the level we compete at now, it's difficult because every team is so good.
01:02So you don't know. There's no gimme. So you can't expect to be winning every game, really.
01:07But yeah, I mean, it's good. The club's still going in the right direction.
01:10That's the main thing. And we're doing all right. So at the minute, I say it's OK.
01:15Mitch, we can't have you on as a guest without sort of going back to 2022 and Wembley and the FA VARS run.
01:21Although it was two and a half years ago now and three seasons ago since the run.
01:25Is it still talked about at the club? Is it still talked about around town?
01:29You know, is it still something that Littlehampton town are sort of benefiting from, if you like?
01:37Talked about not so much. It's funny, isn't it?
01:40It's funny, isn't it? Because you think of the final, but the build up and the run is talked about more.
01:46The games beforehand, probably because we won those games. But yeah, I'd say it is something that we have sort of left in the past.
01:57But you can see the benefits of what happened that year everywhere around the club, around the town.
02:04The knock on effect of that run and that final has just been massive.
02:09So, yeah, you can you can still see the benefits and we're still reaping the rewards from it.
02:13But talked about like sort of daily and consistently not so much.
02:18No, no, we're very much we're very much trying to move with the times now.
02:22You just have to get to Wembley again, given something else to talk about sometime.
02:26Yeah, we'll give it a go.
02:30Yeah, excellent. Yeah. Littlehampton are now in their third season in the Ismian South East division.
02:35You've held your own pretty well, but was it a big jump to make from step five to step four?
02:40Or did the club's ambitions go higher than that?
02:43At the time, it was a huge jump because you've got to remember the clubs had no history of competing at that level.
02:49So it was massive. It was the jump the first year didn't feel as big because we were obviously on the back of winning so many games.
02:57So we stepped into that league and we were really confident, to be honest.
03:00And I think by Christmas we were about 7th or 8th. I think we were sort of in and around a good position in the league.
03:05But then the reality of the league sort of hits you after Christmas when the novelty is sort of worn off and you go into, I think, the first season.
03:11We went to Hyfe away on a Tuesday night, Sheffie away on a Tuesday night.
03:15So we used to go into sort of showrooms and wicks round the corner.
03:20So that's sort of the reality of it slapped us in the face a little bit after Christmas.
03:26But yeah, we love competing at this level. And now that the club's had a good chance to get their eye in, now we can start looking at sort of progressing further.
03:37I'd like to think that we're fairly established now at that level.
03:41So then obviously you've got to start thinking about moving forward and the club are doing so much to be able to do that, to help us do that.
03:48So yes, it's an enjoyable league to be in because obviously the competition is so high.
03:54Like we went to deal on Saturday in front of 700 fans and played and it was a great game of football.
03:59So it's like, yes, it's hard and it's difficult with the travel, but you do feel like you're playing football at a proper level.
04:05And I think that's what the boys appreciate and they like. So, yeah, I mean, for the club, we're always trying to move forward and trying to improve.
04:12So there's no point standing still. So I think that will take us a good couple of years to be able to think about that realistically.
04:18I look at Chai as a really good example of a team that went up, stayed up, consolidated for a few years,
04:24and then they gave themselves the opportunity to go up, which they've done.
04:27And I think they'll do the same. I think they'll do the same at that level.
04:30So I think they're a really good benchmark for any Sussex team now.
04:34Yeah. Just a supplementary question from me, Mitch.
04:37What about yourself? Have you got ambitions to manage a much higher level or are you happy with where you are?
04:44For me, management was really strange. It was something I never really thought about.
04:48The only reason I did it is because Little Hampton asked me to do it.
04:51So I wouldn't be in management now if Little Hampton didn't ask me to do it.
04:55And to be honest, I've got such a good relationship with the club and with the chairman and the people at the club.
05:00I've been around for sort of 15 years.
05:02So they've always said to me that we'll be managing the club for as long as we want to do it, me and George.
05:07I've said to George, I'd love to. I've never thought about managing another club or going higher, to be honest.
05:13If I'm ever going to go higher, I want it to be Little Hampton.
05:16So for me, no, not really. I haven't got ambitions to go higher personally, but I've got ambitions for us as a club to go higher.
05:23So I don't really think about that personally.
05:27We've been so lucky, me and George, with the club, the way they've been with us and to us.
05:31I'd say we are the most comfortable and we have the least pressure out any management team I've probably ever met.
05:41So we're so lucky. You don't really get that. You see clubs at our level sack managers.
05:46And for me and George, they're like, wow. Whereas for us, I mean, yeah, we're happy, we're comfortable, but we want to do better.
05:53But that's hand in hand with the club.
05:56I wanted to ask you a bit about the sort of relationship between you and George,
06:01because it's quite unusual to have joint managers where one is just joint manager, but the other one is actually player manager.
06:10It's been the case for a long time, so you've made it work.
06:12But is that an unusual sort of situation to sort of to manage sometimes or does it just work?
06:21Yeah, from the outside looking in, yeah, it probably looks unusual.
06:24But you've got to remember the year of the VARs, me and George were both playing at the beginning of the season.
06:29And we had a game, I think it was at Peacehaven, when we were both on the pitch and we needed to make subs and we needed to do this and do that.
06:35And it didn't work. And we literally said to each other, right, one of us is going to have to be on the side at all times.
06:41And the problem is George is much better than me. So George has to play.
06:46So, yeah, it does really work and people don't believe us.
06:50But I can't remember sort of any disagreements we have.
06:54We've always got the best interest of the team. And George is brilliant with it, to be fair.
06:59You've probably seen the amount of times George comes off the bench and steps out of the way for other people to come in.
07:04So for us, it works really well. And we're both good at different things.
07:08George is amazing at the organising. I genuinely couldn't do it without him.
07:13He's brilliant. He's spot on with all of that. And I tend to do most of the talking because George is concentrating on playing.
07:18So, yeah, it works really well. And I think at this level with the workload, you need bodies.
07:24You really need bodies. I struggle to imagine how you could do it on your own.
07:29I think of the last two weeks, again, we went to Ashford away on a Tuesday night and we went to Sheppey away on a Tuesday night.
07:36Deal on the Saturday. The travelling, the workload, trying to juggle family life as well.
07:41So we're really lucky with the way it works. It does just work.
07:46I wanted also to ask you about your sort of approach to football because you're, in the nicest way, you strike me as quite old school in a way,
07:55because you're very much somebody, you're a manager who would rather win a game 5-4 than 1-0.
08:01I know that. You very much think one of your roles is to send a team out to entertain as well as win.
08:09You're not really in tune with some of the sort of new football methods that some of these sort of younger managers and coaches have.
08:17Is that fair or fair comment? I'm getting that from what I get from, you know, I speak to you and get comments from you
08:24after a lot of Little Hampton games and that's the sort of, that would be my summary of your approach to football.
08:30Is that fair, do you think?
08:32100% yes. Spot on, Steve. You know, you probably know my sort of idea was better than anyone when it comes to the game.
08:39But for me, I've almost, it's just what I've always been used to at Little Hampton.
08:42It's always been sort of blood, guts, bodies on the line, scoring goals, trying your best to stop other teams scoring, running as much as you possibly can.
08:52I played for Mark Bennett for seven or eight years, maybe even longer.
08:58He was the most old school of old school managers you've ever met in your life.
09:01So for him, it was, he literally used to read out 11 names.
09:05There was no such thing as a tactics board. It'd tell you your numbers two minutes before you went out.
09:10And it was always this 11 v 11, run harder than them and you'll win.
09:14And to be fair, we did. So for me, I think that that works.
09:18And obviously the year we were really successful, we were built around scoring goals.
09:26So for me, that's the only success I've ever really known is to go out to win games.
09:31Don't get me wrong. Sometimes we have had to try and adapt to move with the times in terms of the way we play.
09:36But I always think it does come back down to the fundamentals of working hard and trying to score goals and being expansive and trying to go out and play.
09:44It doesn't mean that we sort of, we're dinosaurs and we bang it long and we hope for knockdowns and things like that.
09:49We do try and play football, believe it or not, but everything we do is built around the basics.
09:54And I always think it comes back to, I always try and say to the boys, it always comes back to the club and the club's sort of hard working identity,
10:02which is we're not very nice to play against and we like to work hard and we put a foot in and we get red cards and goals and goals.
10:09And everything happens at Little Hampton, things that don't usually happen at other clubs.
10:13So, yeah, we are fairly old school, but it seemed to work for us up until now.
10:20I think it's what your fans probably expect now.
10:26You know, they want to be entertained. They don't just want you to, they don't want to see sort of over technical football, over complicated football.
10:34They know what they're going to get from one of your teams and it's still what they're getting.
10:39Yeah. And for me, like, again, I was, I'm a Man United fan, so I grew up on 90s Man United, which is two fast wingers, get down the line, get crosses in, get it to the strikers.
10:48And that's just always been football for me. So my thing as well is, to be honest, I said to George, if I'm going to basically retire and not play, then I want to watch something that's worth watching.
10:59So when I'm watching my team, I want goals and I want, I don't mind like the red cards and the carnage.
11:05I like all that because that's what you want to see as a fan. And I like watching it.
11:09So if it gets to a stage where I don't like watching my team, that's when I'd probably struggle to do it anymore.
11:14But yeah, with the fans as well, it's so similar to the chairman, to the club, to the committee.
11:20Again, we lose games and they're exactly the same of us. They understand where we've come from and where we're at.
11:26So again, no pressure. It's such a lovely environment to manage in because I've never had any sort of negativity at all that I can remember that's been sustained at all anyway.
11:38So, yeah, we're so, so lucky to be at the club that we're at.
11:43Yeah, I was going to ask about the fans, but you've answered that now. So there you go.
11:48We're going to move on to the look across the non-league pyramid in Sussex now.
11:54Steve, I know you're going to bring Mitch in to come at some of these.
11:57But last weekend, we saw five of our sides in the FA trophy second round, I think it was.
12:04And the highlight being a West Sussex derby between Chichester and Worthing.
12:07How did our sides get on, Steve? And who came out on top in that derby?
12:11Yeah, so we had three out of five teams from Sussex getting through to the next round of the trophy.
12:17So Chichester-Worthing was a good game, actually. Chichester gave Worthing a really good game, pushed them all the way.
12:22It was 2-2 quite late on. Danny Cashman then got a late winner for Worthing to put them through.
12:28Also going through last weekend were Eastbourne Borough. They left it late as well.
12:34They were one down at Dorking. Fellow National South team got a late equaliser through Moussa Diarra and then went on to win 4-2 on penalties.
12:43Max Metcalf, their goalie, was the shootout hero there.
12:46And Horsham, you know what Horsham do in cup games. Give Horsham a cup game, they tend to win it.
12:51I think they've now only lost three of their last 30 cup games or something mad like that.
12:58They were home to Maidstone of National South, again, high league opposition, and they got through as well.
13:07So Chichester went out, as we've said, to Worthing.
13:10And the other team in Sussex to go out were Lewis, who were a bit disappointed to lose at home to AFC Totten from Hampshire.
13:17But we've got three teams through, so we've still got some interest there.
13:22And the third round draw was held on Monday with National League sides entering the competition.
13:27How did the draw pan out, Steve, who have we got?
13:29Yes, so Worthing are probably happiest with the draw.
13:33They're at home to Gosport, my hometown team, funnily enough, in the next round.
13:39But that's step two against step three, so Worthing will fancy their chances there.
13:43Horsham have got another big away day. They like their cup away day, so they're off to Torquay in the next round.
13:51The fans will love that, getting down to play more.
13:54And Eastbourne Borough have got yet another cup tie against Boreham Wood to play.
13:58That's the team who knocked them out of the FA Cup, played them in the league a couple of weeks later.
14:03So, yes, plenty of interest there in the next round. Worthing will be happiest with it.
14:08It's the last 64 now, and Mitch, just to bring you in, when you started getting through the rounds of the VARs in 2021-22,
14:18I guess the excitement mounts a little bit.
14:20People start to think, well, how many more games have we got to get through here to really do something?
14:25Those sides still in the trophy will be thinking that now, won't they?
14:30Yes, kind of, but I think the way it works in these FA competitions is I just think you're just praying for the next one.
14:38I don't think you think to yourself, we're four away from this or five away from that, because it is too sort of forward thinking.
14:45I always thought that when we had it, I always just thought home draw, home draw, next one, home draw, next one.
14:50And then you almost think, I remember every time we were getting through, I just kept thinking, oh, we get another day like today.
14:57So good, but it might even be even better.
14:59So, yeah, genuinely, I don't think, unless you're a real top, top club.
15:03I think clubs like Worthing and Eastbourne Borough will probably be looking at it thinking, wow, we've got a decent chance here.
15:10But the rest of them will genuinely be thinking, can we nick a home tie or can we nick a big away tie, a bit like Horsham have done.
15:17So you only, genuinely, it's one of them cliches in football, but definitely in these cup ties, you only think of the next tie because you feel lucky every time you get through.
15:25Yeah. Sticking with cup, we had midweek action in the Sussex Senior Cup.
15:30Five third round ties took place Tuesday evening with one being postponed.
15:34Who came out on top in those games, Steve, and who is in the hat for the quarterfinal draw on Saturday?
15:39Yes. So we've got six teams through now to the quarterfinals.
15:43This week we saw Worthing beat Eastbourne United 5-0, I think that was.
15:48Bognor beat Hastings. Horsham beat Eastbourne Town. Whitehawk beat Haywards Heath.
15:57And I'm missing one as well. Eastbourne Borough, of course, won at Lewis, didn't they?
16:01Two on Lewis in another good game.
16:04Last week, Lansing got through. They won at East Grinstead.
16:07So those six teams are through. The draw is, I believe, Saturday night.
16:11BBC Sussex will probably be carrying news of that, as will we online.
16:17There are two ties to be played. One of those is an interesting one.
16:21Well, they're both interesting, but Burgess Hill against Brighton Under-21s is due to be played at the start of December.
16:27Probably give Burgess Hill a chance in that, the way they're playing this season.
16:30They're doing very well at home.
16:32The other tie, which I'm going to ask Mitch about, is Crawley Down, Gatwick against Little Hampton Town.
16:38It was postponed this week, I think, wasn't it, Mitch?
16:41That's going to be a bit of a tricky little trip for you, isn't it?
16:44Yeah, we always struggled against them, actually, when we played against them in the Cat League.
16:48But I'll tell you what, honestly, we were so lucky it got called off Tuesday.
16:51We were missing, I think we were going there with about 13 fit players.
16:55We were missing Joe Benn, Rob O'Toole, Ryan Thomas, Dale Dewar, who is on loan from East Bonbarra.
17:02He's cut tied. He actually played for East Bonbarra in the Senior Cup.
17:05We were missing so many. So, it was a bit like on the day we were scrambling.
17:09And the fact that it got called off, just when you think, oh, thank God for that.
17:13But, yeah, it's always tough going there. They're always a good side.
17:16They're always sort of top six, I'd say, in that league, aren't they?
17:19They are this season, obviously, aren't they? They're about six now.
17:22But the Sussex Senior Cup, you obviously want to go as far as you can in that one.
17:27Yeah, again, we played last year. I think we beat Bogner and Worthing on the way to the...
17:31Did we get to the semi? I think it might have been the semi against Hastings.
17:34Yes, I think it was, wasn't it?
17:36Yeah, so, again, it just gives you a good opportunity to play against these clubs.
17:41And sort of a taste of... I always think if you can play against Bogner and Worthing, for me, are the main ones.
17:49They're the clubs who, one day, I want us to be playing on a boxing day or a New Year's day.
17:54So, it's nice to get a sort of taster of them fixtures.
17:57And, to be honest, we do seem to do quite well in them games.
18:00Don't get me wrong, they're both class sides that we don't really want to be drawing.
18:06But if we do, it's always good. I've always think it's a good occasion, loads of fans, good games.
18:11So, yeah, hopefully we can get through in a tricky tie and then get one of the big boys.
18:18Yeah, absolutely.
18:20So, meanwhile, Eastbourne, Borough and Worthing are going great guns in National League South.
18:24How have the Sports and Reds been getting on since the last podcast, Steve?
18:27Seems like there's been plenty to be positive about.
18:29Yeah, both doing well. Eastbourne currently third, Worthing eighth, I think.
18:34But it's very tight at the top there. You've got Weston three points clear.
18:39But you've then got, I think, the next seven clubs separated by three points.
18:43And Eastbourne and Worthing are both among those.
18:46And I think Worthing have got a game in hand over most of the sides above them as well.
18:51Both still a little bit inconsistent.
18:53But, I mean, all the teams in that league are a little bit inconsistent.
18:56Nobody's running away with it.
18:58They both had an away defeat recently.
19:03Eastbourne, Borough and Worthing, yeah, both lost away from home on the same day
19:07without sort of looking like getting anything.
19:10Both at home tomorrow, though.
19:12Eastbourne, Borough are facing Bath City, who have just got rid of their manager.
19:18So it might not be as easy as it might have been otherwise.
19:22Worthing at home to Chelmsford, which will be a real good battle between two teams with big ambitions.
19:27And it's the home form that will probably sort of govern whether you stay in that top group
19:32or fall away a little bit.
19:34Worthing are actually at home for every one of the next five Saturdays, strangely.
19:39We had a piece with Chris Eggerter this week.
19:41So four of those are league games and they've got the trophy game in the middle of it as well.
19:45So if they can get on the front foot, if they can win that first home game,
19:49that really gives them a good chance of momentum.
19:52What a job he's doing, by the way.
19:54What a job he's doing.
19:56What a job that Aggie's doing, to be fair.
19:59I actually liken going into Worthing after Hinch like going into Man United after Alex Ferguson.
20:05It's such a difficult job.
20:08And you think of the levels that Hinch set to even go in there.
20:14And I think a lot of people probably expected Worthing to struggle in their first year of outing.
20:18But he seems to have gone in there and just sort of picked up where he left off.
20:21And I reckon they're the type of side, I think they'll put a run together
20:24and I think they'll be in the playoffs, definitely.
20:26What a job he's doing.
20:27And when you consider he's missed Ollie Pearce as well, 43 goals.
20:30Yeah, but they lost a couple, didn't they?
20:32Joe Felix, Ollie Pearce.
20:33They've lost a few of their best players, but he just seems to have signed more
20:36and they just seem to be a conveyor belt of good players there.
20:39Yeah.
20:40And obviously Hinch is doing a great job at York City, isn't he, as well?
20:43He is, yeah.
20:44In the National League.
20:45Unbelievable.
20:46Yeah.
20:47Yeah, absolutely.
20:48In the Ishmael Premier, Lewis continue to enjoy a strong start to their campaign,
20:52but struggling Whitehawk and Bogner have enjoyed less luck.
20:55What's the latest from the Step 3, Steve?
20:57Yeah, let's go from the top downwards.
21:00Lewis are still in the playoff zone there and have done really well.
21:04We said it before on this podcast,
21:06we don't think too many people expected them to be at the top end
21:10after all the changes they made there in the summer.
21:12But Craig Nelson and his staff have done really well.
21:16And the league form has dipped a little bit,
21:19but they had a really good 4-1 win home to Bogner last week.
21:23Having gone out of the FA Trophy and Sussex City Cup this week,
21:27they'll be looking to, the old cliche, concentrate on the league for a bit now
21:30and it'd be interesting to see if they can put a run together.
21:34You've got Horsham and Chichester City both just below midway.
21:38Chichester are doing okay.
21:40They're happy with where they are.
21:41They're happy with how they're playing.
21:43They're picking up points here and there, home and away.
21:45Horsham probably would be higher if they weren't already three or four games
21:49behind the rest because of all their cup games.
21:51It happened to them last season.
21:52They're going to have to play catch-up.
21:54If they can keep players fit and avoid too many injuries,
21:59they'll be in the top half pretty soon.
22:02The disappointing thing is the bottom two.
22:04Bogner second from bottom, Whitehawk bottom.
22:07Bogner have shown some signs of recovery lately.
22:11Decent draw at home to Carl Shulton last week and then beat Hastings in the cup,
22:15as we've said, in the week.
22:16So, they will think they may be turning the corner now.
22:20Whitehawk will want to do the same pretty soon.
22:23Hopefully, those two won't be at the bottom for much longer.
22:26No, indeed.
22:28One division below in the Eastman South East,
22:30Burgess Hill Town are having a storming season.
22:32The Hillians currently occupy a playoff place.
22:35In stark contrast, three of the division's four relegation places
22:38are occupied by teams from Sussex.
22:40What's the latest from the Eastman South East, Steve?
22:43Burgess Hill is still doing really well.
22:45They're fifth, I think, at the moment.
22:47Again, the top end of that division is quite tight.
22:50You can win a game and go up from sixth to second, things like that.
22:53Ramsgate look as though they could.
22:56I'm going to ask Mitch about this in a minute.
22:58Ramsgate have won 14 and drawn one of their 15 games so far,
23:02which speaks for themselves, looking to get over the line,
23:05which they didn't quite do last year.
23:07So, Burgess Hill are the top Sussex team in that league.
23:10Eastbourne Town are doing really well after promotion from the SCFL.
23:14They're in 12th.
23:15You've then got Broadbridge Heath, Littlehampton and East Grinstead
23:19just below halfway.
23:21At the moment, we've got three Sussex sides in the bottom four,
23:24which is Three Bridges, Lansing, Stenning.
23:27But, Mitch, it's still quite early days, really, isn't it?
23:30There's a lot of football to be played there.
23:32You've got more than half the season to go.
23:34Any side that's in the bottom half can still have aspirations
23:38of getting in the top half, can't they?
23:40Yes, absolutely.
23:41It's one of those ones.
23:43It's hard to say because it's really difficult to put a run of wins together.
23:48It is really difficult because there's just no easy games.
23:50Every other week, you've got to go to a sitting board or a Ramsgate
23:53or somewhere, which is difficult to pick up points.
23:56You can pick up points, but I would also say the other way around,
23:58when you get in that losing rut and you're in that bottom four,
24:01it's really difficult to crawl yourself out of it.
24:04Although you know you've got the comfort of having lots and lots of games left,
24:09it's hard to see when you're in – I've been in that situation with us
24:12maybe last year where you look at a run of fixtures
24:15and you actually think it's hard to see where the points are.
24:19But you've got to have almost that attitude where you can just
24:22drag yourself out of it and you've got to have the players that can do it.
24:25Yes, it's an unforgiving league. It's so hard.
24:29I always compare it to the Championship because you can beat anyone,
24:32but you could easily lose four or five in a row as well. It's tough.
24:36Of the sides that you've played so far, which two or three have impressed you most?
24:43We haven't played Ramsgate or Sittingbourne, unfortunately.
24:46We've got Sittingbourne Tuesday night.
24:48Ramsgate for me this year will win it by about 10 points, I think.
24:51I think they'll win it an absolute camera.
24:53Sittingbourne are really, really good as well.
24:55They're probably the best of the rest.
24:57But the teams that we've played against, Burgess Hill were really good.
25:03They were really good. We beat them in the training,
25:06but we lost to them away from home. I think they'll do well.
25:10What's difficult, again, though, is they seem to win every week,
25:12but they've been sick for four or five weeks.
25:15So, you just think that shows the quality because everyone up there is just winning.
25:19Everyone up there just wins, win after win.
25:22Teams we've come up against, Sheppey, always good, always tough.
25:26But, yes, I think the best is yet to come, unfortunately, for us.
25:31We're to play Sittingbourne and Ramsgate.
25:33I think they're the two that are levels above.
25:35When you look at Cray Valley and you see what they're doing in that league above, Chichester,
25:40I actually would say the top two teams are already –
25:43I'd class them as top 10 teams in the league above anyway.
25:46So, that just shows the quality in the league.
25:49Oh, wow. Yes, absolutely.
25:51Finally, we're going to talk about the SCFL Premier.
25:54A two-horse race has emerged for the title involving two near neighbours.
25:57What's the latest from the top and bottom of the SCFL Premier, Steve?
26:00Yes, it is a bit of a two-horse race at the moment.
26:03Hassex and Hayward-Seath. Hassex are top at the moment.
26:05Played a game more than Hayward-Seath, but they're now three points clear of Heath
26:10having won three games in just over a week, actually, to go clear there.
26:16But those two are more than 10 points clear of all the sides behind them.
26:20So, you've got Hassex top, Hayward-Seath, and both of those sides have still only lost one game,
26:26which in quite a tough league is quite impressive at this stage.
26:31So, they are more than 10 points clear of the rest.
26:33The chasers include Roffey, Petersfield Town and Bexhill as well.
26:38Bexhill had a really slow start to the season after Ryan Light came back and needed to rebuild the squad.
26:44They're doing really well now.
26:45They're up to fifth, so they're ones to watch.
26:47And obviously, with the play-offs in that league now, second to fifth play in the play-offs,
26:51lots to play for there and lots of interest for quite a lot of clubs.
26:55Crawley Down, Gatwick, who we mentioned earlier, are up there as well.
26:58They're in sixth.
26:59Mitch, is that a difficult league to get out of?
27:02You know, it's a few years now since you won it,
27:05but like all the other leagues we've talked about, very competitive
27:09and there's a lot of teams looking for that top spot, aren't there?
27:12Yeah, I love that league.
27:14It'll always be my favourite league.
27:15I've just so much nostalgia of it.
27:18But it is a tough league to get out of.
27:20But you look at it now and you've got...
27:22It really reminds me of the Hassox and Hayward Teeth situation,
27:26really reminds me of the year we won it and we were going up against Saltdean,
27:29who had such a good squad.
27:32Their squad was player for player, was better than ours
27:35and we all accepted that at the time.
27:36They had a lot more resources, shall we say.
27:40And I think it's similar now.
27:42I think Hassox are a bit like us, probably not spending too much money.
27:46Some young managers in that have sort of like galvanised the squad,
27:51put them together.
27:52Their togetherness is really good.
27:53I've seen a few of their videos on your Instant Replay
27:55and I really like them.
27:57Hayward Teeth, I think, are probably stronger in terms of what they've got.
28:01I think Hassox might have that little thing that you need
28:04that gets you over the line.
28:05So that'll be an interesting one.
28:07And do you know what as well?
28:08I love seeing teams come up from that league
28:10that have never been in this level before.
28:13I don't know Hassox have.
28:14I'd love to see them go up, to be honest.
28:17But yes, it looks good this year again, that league.
28:20I think it struggled the last couple of years with the quality of it,
28:24but this year seems to have looked good again,
28:27seems to have picked up again.
28:28Good sides in there.
28:29Yes, it really is.
28:31James Westlake, lovely bloke, isn't he?
28:33The manager of Hassox.
28:34I like James a lot.
28:35Followed his athletics career as well.
28:37Good runner.
28:38Yes, he was horrible to play against.
28:40He was horrible to play against.
28:41Was he?
28:42Yes, never stopped.
28:43He's good friends with George, actually.
28:45I think they grew up together.
28:46I think they might have played at Wimbledon together
28:48or something like that as kids.
28:49But yes, I'd love to see them go up.
28:51I want to see them win it, if I'm being completely honest.
28:53Yes, fair enough.
28:55Right, and as is customary,
28:56we're going to pick our games of the week to look forward to,
28:58me and Steve.
28:59So I'm going to go for Hyde versus Stenningtown
29:01in the Ishmael South East on Saturday.
29:03Big game at the bottom.
29:0418th versus 21st.
29:06A win for Stenning would see them leap Frog Hive
29:08and potentially move out of the relegation zone.
29:10So, yes, a big one for Stenning there.
29:12What's your game, Steve?
29:14I'm going to go for one of Mitch's old teams,
29:17one of the teams he played for, WIC,
29:19who are away to Haywards Heath in the SCFL Premier.
29:24Haywards Heath have had a couple of little,
29:26not really setbacks.
29:27They lost in the Chelsea Senior Cup.
29:29They drew nil-nil at Petersfield last week.
29:31They will be keen to get back to winning ways in that one.
29:34And no disrespect to WIC, I think they probably will.
29:37You take Heath to win that at home to WIC.
29:39But WIC are doing okay, actually,
29:41after promotion from Division One.
29:43Mid-table, they've turned a few teams over.
29:45So, yes, it should be a good contest, that.
29:48Excellent.
29:49And finally, Mitch, to marry goals host Merston tomorrow,
29:51are you going for another 5-4 win?
29:53Probably.
29:55You know what?
29:57Hopefully it's on.
29:59I think we've struggled a little bit with the pitch this week.
30:03We weren't able to train.
30:05But, yes, I mean, Little Amsterdam at home usually means something.
30:08Goals, red cards, own goals.
30:10I don't know.
30:11Something crazy will happen, I'm sure of it.
30:13Yes, absolutely.
30:15Yes, the weather forecast is not good tomorrow.
30:17More than tomorrow is it for the rain and stuff.
30:19So, there you go.
30:20Well, thank you so much for joining us, Mitch.
30:22It's been a pleasure.
30:23And we wish you all the best for the rest of the season.
30:26And don't forget, sussexworld.co.uk, forward slash sport,
30:30and our newspapers are the best place to get your Sussex Nong Lee coverage.
30:33So, thanks, chaps, and speak soon.
30:36Cheers, guys.