Matt Pole and Sussex sport guru Steve Bone are joined by Eastbourne Town manager Jude Macdonald.
Jude managed Whitehawk U18s for five years, joint-managed Sussex Schools U18s for four years, then Whitehawk’s first team for two-and-a-half years, and has managed Eastbourne Town since 2022.
Last season Eastbourne Town reached the Southern Combination premier play-offs and beat Newhaven in the final to secure a return to step four and the Isthmian League after a number of years at step five.
Jude managed Whitehawk U18s for five years, joint-managed Sussex Schools U18s for four years, then Whitehawk’s first team for two-and-a-half years, and has managed Eastbourne Town since 2022.
Last season Eastbourne Town reached the Southern Combination premier play-offs and beat Newhaven in the final to secure a return to step four and the Isthmian League after a number of years at step five.
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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 Pohl and on this edition
00:09I'm joined by Sussex Sport guru Steve Bone and our latest special guest. Steve and I
00:14are both delighted to be joined by Eastbourne Town Manager Jude MacDonald. Jude managed
00:18Whitehawk Under-18s for five years, joint managed Sussex Schools Under-18s for four
00:23years, then Whitehawks First Team for two and a half years and has managed Eastbourne
00:26Town since 2022. Last season, Eastbourne Town reached the Southern Combination Premier
00:31Playoffs, beat New Haven in the final to secure a return to Step 4 and the Eastbourne League
00:36after a number of years at Step 5. Like many other Sussex teams have in recent years, Town
00:41have taken to the higher level very well and are in a fairly comfortable mid-table position
00:45with a third of the 24-25 season to go and only a few days ago almost lowered the colours
00:50of promotion-chasing Burgess Hill Town at Leyland Park, leading 1-0 until late on before
00:55conceding a late equaliser. Jude, thank you very much for joining us today. How are you
00:59getting on?
01:00Pleasure. Yeah, really well, thank you. Really well. It's been quite an enjoyable season
01:06for the most part. So, yeah, not too bad.
01:09Yes, we'll get on to that in a minute. But before we ask how things are going on for
01:12Saffron to Eastbourne Town, just tell us about your playing and coaching career to date and
01:16which teams you've played for.
01:19Yes, it's hardly a distinguished playing career by any stretch of the imagination. It's, if
01:24any, playing career, to be honest. I played for Eastbourne Town Under-18s and Reserves
01:30and then went off to University up north and then came back down and had, I didn't really
01:38play to be honest, I had a really short stint at Myloke, but I was coaching and I'd had
01:44a coaching bug by then and that was it. That sort of had my main focus. So, yeah, there's
01:50not much of a playing career to really mention. And then, yeah, got started off, started with
01:57Under-18s. There wasn't an Under-18s there previously. There has been in sort of times
02:03gone by, but there wasn't at the time. And so we started that team and things sort of
02:10went from there really. So we were sort of there for five years and yeah, it was really
02:15enjoyable for the most part.
02:18What was it about coaching that caught you then, Jude? It seems, I see most people go
02:21to the route from playing to coaching, but it seemed like coaching was the thing that
02:25you wanted to do straight off the bat almost.
02:27Yeah, it wasn't like a plan. You get a lot of people these days that are sort of quite
02:33keen to get their badges done really early and they want to make a career in coaching
02:36and that certainly wasn't my plan by any stretch of the imagination. Yeah, I didn't coach
02:42university or anything like that. I just wanted to play all the time. That was my only real
02:48interest. And then started doing Hawks 18s and I, just before Hawks 18s, sorry, I was
02:56teaching and I took the second team at the college and I was like, oh, I might do this
03:01actually. So I did the Hawks and I was like, no, I actually really enjoy it. And that was
03:08really how it started. It wasn't like a great, I didn't have a grand plan of being a coach
03:13and I certainly didn't have any designs on going into men's football. Definitely not.
03:21I wouldn't even say that was on the wish, like far down the wishlist. It wasn't even
03:25on there. I had no interest whatsoever in going into men's football, but here I am
03:31200 and something games later. It's sort of once it gets hold of you and you start
03:38planning for three points on a Saturday, it's a weird sort of addiction that you can't,
03:46it's quite hard to describe to people. So yeah, now I'm here really coaching and
03:54managing in men's football. Yes, you are indeed. And at Eastbourne Town,
03:59you are back in the Eastbourne League after your player final win last season and you seem to be
04:03holding your own quite well. How would you rate your season so far Jude? Yeah, we're obviously
04:09pleased because we're in a relatively stable position. I think probably two more wins would
04:16absolutely guarantee you it, but that puts us on 43 and I'll be stunned if anyone went down with
04:24more than 37 points in the league this year. I'd be really shocked, just because of the way the
04:28form guide is going at the moment. So yeah, I think 40 would probably do, but we keep saying
04:35to ourselves two more wins just to be absolutely sure. So we're really pleased from that point of
04:43view, obviously that we've done it in, nearly done it in March and, sorry, February. I'm getting my
04:51months mixed up, but nearly done it in February. And I think, you know, we might not get those two
04:55wins. It might be till March that we have to wait or whatever, but we'd back ourselves with sort of
05:01the games we've got to go that we'd get two wins out of that. So I think if you offered us this
05:05position, we'd have your arm off. I think we're sort of slightly, I don't know if disappointed
05:10is the right word, but we sort of about four or five games ago, we sort of sat down as coaching
05:15staff and we worked out where we thought we should be based on performances. And we think we've got
05:20seven points off where we think we should be, which would put us in a ridiculous position. And
05:24that's just, like I said, that's based on what we feel like we deserve from games. And we included
05:31in that games that we didn't think we deserved to win. So Broadbridge Heath away we won, but we
05:36didn't deserve anything from the game. They were the much better side. And there was a couple of
05:41others as well, where we were like, well, we've sort of stunk the place out, but we've nipped
05:46something. And so we included those games within that. And we still think we've probably got seven
05:51points shy of where we should be. So I think performance is generally where we're sort of
05:58quite pleased. If we're coaching performance and not coaching result, I think we're quite pleased
06:03as a group. Jude, as a team and as a club, how have you found the step up from step five to step
06:11four? Is it a big step or is it actually quite achievable for a club like Eastbourne Town?
06:19I think it's quite achievable if you've got some really good volunteers, which is obviously
06:25massively helpful. We've got a chairman and a treasurer who don't put any sort of pressure
06:32on us as coaching staff. So if we lose, the phone's not ringing, I'm not getting messages
06:39sort of about why we lost or anything like that. They're really hands off.
06:45So from that point of view, from a team point of view, it does help. I think from a team point
06:52of view, it's both boxes. If you look at our, we've been in charge for two seasons and had the
06:59best defence at step five in both those seasons. And this year we've shipped quite a few goals and
07:06one mistake will kill you. And that's the same as you go, you know, you go step three, step two,
07:11et cetera, the forwards just get better and better and better. And so that's been a wake
07:19up call for definitely some of our players. For the club, we've still got stuff to do around the
07:24ground in order to, so yeah, we're sort of nearly safe, but we might not be if we don't get some of
07:29the groundwork done. So there's definitely stuff going on there, but people are working really hard
07:34behind the scenes to get things done so that the club can hopefully try and stay here. Because I
07:39think the last time they were up, they were up for about seven years. So, you know, it'd be nice to
07:49try and keep the club, whether I'm here or not, try and keep the club,
07:52certainly give it the grounding to keep it here at this level.
07:56Yeah, absolutely. And you kind of touched on this already, but is survival from relegation
08:00the only real aim for this season, or are you still very much looking up, not down and wanting
08:04perhaps to secure a top half finish Jude? Yeah, that's the aim. I think that's your number one
08:10aim. I think if you get promoted in any level, even if you look at Chichester and Cray in the
08:15league above, the absolute number one target that they would have set themselves is let's make sure
08:20we're safe. And now obviously both of them are flying high. But I think from our point of view,
08:27we were really lucky, people were really kind to us and gave us a lot of applauded
08:33last year about the way that we finished the season. But if you then stop leaving your own
08:40hype, that's inevitably a downfall in any sport. So we knew what we thought we'd be good at,
08:48and we set the target of avoiding relegation. But we, I think I said to Cee the other day,
08:53we try not to put like a ceiling on things. I think once you put that ceiling on the players,
09:00they start believing they're only going to get to a certain level. And we tried not to do that
09:04since we've been here. The aim when we got in, Eastbourne Town were probably the equivalent of
09:11about, just based on league position in 2022, of about 16th best team in the county, something
09:18like that, you know, based on where they'd finished and stuff. And we were like, well,
09:21they shouldn't be the 16th best team. I can't remember if it was actually 16th. We were like,
09:25right, we want to try and make them like within the top 10 best teams in the county. So how can
09:30we do that? And that was always the sort of aim really, rather than worrying about promotions,
09:34relegations, etc, etc. How can we do that? So that's the mindset we've sort of tried to have
09:41really. And within that, we've managed to pick up some points, but we've never taken our eye off,
09:46we've got to get to that sort of 40 point mark this year.
09:52And just with that sort of thing in mind, now you're at Step 4, and you're looking like you
09:58hopefully will stay at Step 4. Is there any sort of longer term plan at the club,
10:02thinking, okay, if we can survive at Step 4, do okay, might we one day be in a position to go up
10:09to Step 3? It's been Premier League, you know, some clubs have done that, you look at Chichester
10:13City, who we'll talk about a little bit more later. Or is the fact that Eastbourne, it's not
10:20a massive town, but it's got three senior football teams, you know, is that a little bit of a bar to,
10:26you know, could you have all three of those teams sort of going so far up the pyramid,
10:31or does that hold you back a bit? Yeah, possibly. I think if you look what Borough are doing,
10:39obviously, they're putting a lot of resources into their project, which is obviously absolutely
10:44fine. And I think Eastbourne United are doing the same. And we've been able to sort of work
10:48our project without necessarily those resources. So and that's absolutely not criticism of them,
10:53it's, you know, it's fantastic to see what they're doing. I think it's, we would need investment
11:01in order to try and push ourselves and keep on going. I don't think that's unfair to say.
11:07But like I said, if you look at what we're doing with some boys who are playing for Buttons,
11:13really, you know, I think they deserve a lot of credit. And it's the sort of longevity of
11:20your determination and your motivation. And if those boys stay determined and motivated,
11:24the sky really could be the limit. So we don't, we haven't used a lot of players since we've been
11:30here in the sort of two and a half, just over two and a half years we've been here, we haven't
11:35really used many players. And that's been deliberate, because we've got boys who are
11:40really motivated and really want to go and push themselves and haven't had many boys that are
11:45going to chase a paycheck. So from that point of view, we're lucky. And I think if we can keep
11:52that mindset, I'm certainly ambitious. And that's not to say I'm ambitious in terms of like,
11:59I want to go and manage Man United. I'm not an idiot. I think I'm ambitious in terms of I want
12:04to try and do well with the team I'm at. And I want to do well with Eastbourne Town. You know,
12:08I grew up in Eastbourne. And it would be amazing if we can go and start sort of playing with the
12:16big boys higher up in the table. But at the moment, we know what our level is. And we know
12:22the teams that we're competing against this season. But we've sort of said to the boys, look,
12:27when we've had these bigger sides and big budgets, we're like, let's roll our sleeves up. And let's
12:30show them that we can be a good side if we want to be. And sometimes that's gone all right,
12:35like Tuesday night. And sometimes that hasn't gone all right, like my gateway. But you know,
12:40that's the sort of side we want to be. So will the club want to go to step three? I hope so.
12:47Certainly the chairman's ambitious. But it's all about we're not blindly ambitious. We're not sort
12:53of losing our sense of realism. We know who we are at the moment.
12:58Before we move on to look at how other non-league clubs have been getting on, Jude,
13:02I wanted to ask you about the Eastbourne Town fans. I'm not going to ruffle any feathers and
13:06say that they are the best supporters in Sussex, but they're certainly up there, aren't they, Jude?
13:11Yeah, they're fantastic. I think that it's not quite what it used to be with like the sort of
13:16beachhead ultras and stuff. That's before our time. And I think they've got a lot of
13:21plaudits quite rightly. But the fans that are there at the moment have been fantastic to us,
13:25really, really supportive. And I think it's brought into the community, like the community
13:31feel that we've got. And that's not to say community feel within the whole town, but just
13:35community within the club, like the fans that are there home and away. And they really like the
13:41players and have a drink with the players in the bar afterwards. And I think from that point of
13:46view, those sort of things in non-league football, they really create like a bit of a core that you
13:52can build on and you can sort of travel upwards with. And I think we've, I'd like to think we've
13:58engaged well with them and they've engaged well with us and given us the support we need at loads
14:03of different tough games this season. And so, yeah, we've been really, really lucky with the
14:10support we've had from them. Absolutely. And now we'll move on to look at how
14:15Sussex's non-league club's been getting on. And we'll start in the Isby and South East,
14:19where Burgess Hill Town continue to lead the way for our sides in Sussex. The Healyens sit third
14:24in the table, while a resurgent Three Bridges are just seven points off the playoffs with games in
14:28hand. Meanwhile, at the bottom, things are now starting to look decidedly bleak for basement
14:33club Stenning Town. Steve Bone, how have our eight Sussex sides got on since the last podcast?
14:38Yeah, so not too many changes in this division since we last spoke, with Burgess Hill third
14:44and now 17 points clear of the first side outside the playoffs, but equally still 15
14:50points off the leaders as well, Sittingbourne. Three Bridges, watch out for them, they're on
14:54a great run, seven wins in eight and just five points off the playoff places themselves. Could
15:00get there like they did last year, or she lost to Chichester in the final last year.
15:03Broadbridge Heath and Jude's Eastbourne Town, just below halfway, where they have been,
15:08you know, they've been around that halfway mark for most of the season. East Greenstead,
15:12a little bit behind them, but 10 points clear of the bottom four. At the bottom, great win last
15:17week for Littlehampton, they beat Sheppey 3-1 at the sports field, so they've lifted themselves
15:22out of the bottom four. Those put Lansing in the bottom four, they have lost five in a row,
15:28so they'll need to turn that around pretty quick. Stenning are still bottom,
15:31but they're still only five points from getting out of the relegation zone, so all is not lost.
15:37And Jude, we were just going to ask you about Burgess Hill. Obviously, they've been going
15:40well all season. You played them the other night. How would you rate their chances of getting,
15:45they look like they're going to get in the playoffs, how would you rate their chances?
15:49Yeah, what, rate their chances of finishing the playoffs or rate their chances of going up?
15:54Well, both, yeah.
15:55Yeah, no, they're definitely finishing the playoffs, 100 per cent. No, no, really,
15:58really good side, really good side. They gave us, we've played them three times this year now,
16:02played them in the FA Cup and they gave us a real schooling in the first half
16:06in August. And then we played them again in the league in August. And although we had a
16:10man sent off after like 25 minutes, they were still a real top side. They were a good side
16:16before we'd had the man sent off as well. And they were comfortable, you know, really comfortable
16:20against us that day. Tuesday night, we sort of used that as a bit of motivation and we had a
16:26man sent off again. So playing for sort of an hour with 10 men was quite tough, but they're a really,
16:31really good side, really, really good side. And I think if you look at the sort of quality of
16:35players certainly going forwards, they're brilliant. But it's actually their defensive
16:41record. I think if you look at the league tables, one of the best defences in the league, I think
16:45they're in the top three defences in the league. I think I'm about the same with the other two
16:50above them. And I think Eric, who are a bit further down in the league, but I think they're
16:56the best four defences. So, yeah, they're a top side. And I would say that when you've got a,
17:04when you're defensively sound, it always gives you a real good chance in the play-offs.
17:08So play-off games tend to suit sides who are sort of good defensively. So,
17:14yeah, from that point of view, you look at Burgess and you go, they've got a chance if and when they
17:19get in there. I mean, it would take a real collapsing to get out so touched with them
17:23staying in those play-off spots. In the Isby Premier, Horsham have turned from play-off
17:29challenges to potential title contenders. The Hornets are third, just two points off league
17:33leaders Dartford. Meanwhile, Chichester City, sorry, continue to impress in their first ever
17:39season in step three, but things are starting to look dicey for struggling Hastings and Bognor.
17:44And what's the latest from our side in the Isby Premier, Steve? It's good and bad news.
17:49I think it's really, yes, mixed. And I again need to start by reminding people that I did
17:54on this podcast quite a few weeks ago, tip Horsham as a good bet for the title. So surprisingly,
18:01since they haven't lost every game, that's normally what happens to my predictions,
18:05but they're still going well. I think he's only won defeat since mid-December now,
18:09the other week at Folkestone. So they're two points behind Dartford, as you say,
18:15there's 12 games to go. So they've got a great chance, big one this weekend,
18:19which you will mention, I think a little bit later. Going down the league in terms of the
18:24Sussex sides from there, Chichester City still going well, had a brilliant nil-nil draw away to
18:29Dartford in midweek that ended the Darts run of 10 straight wins. Lewis had a little boost a couple
18:35of weeks ago, a game that we picked out as game of the weekend, they went and won at Hastings.
18:41So that's made them a little bit more comfortable in mid-table. Whitehawk, another team we'll ask
18:46Jude about in a moment, one place above the relegation zone. They've improved, but they're
18:52still in some danger. They need to keep the wins coming. But Hastings and Bogner, both still very
18:57much in the bottom four, and to be honest, not showing many signs of a turnaround, could both
19:03go down. It wouldn't have seemed possible at the start of the season that you'd have lost both of
19:06those two sides from that division at the wrong end. But Bogner almost needs to, because they're
19:1116 points off safety with 14 to play. Hastings could get out of it more easily, but might we
19:18see both of those in the Eastbourne South East next season? Probably Eastbourne Town would probably
19:23welcome those two in the Eastbourne South next season for a good couple of Sussex derbies, but
19:28it would make the division much more competitive. Jude, a couple of teams there we were just going
19:33to ask you about. Horsham, I think you played in the County Cup, did you, earlier in the season?
19:38That's right, yeah. Really, really good side.
19:40They're having a great season.
19:42Yeah, and I feel like if you look back, I think at the time they had eight wins
19:48in the division. I think they also had eight defeats, I think, around the time they were
19:54having their FA Cup run. And they've absolutely flown. I mean, look, Dom is probably,
20:03you said, best manager in Sussex. If you're looking at things one, I think he's been
20:07incredible. He's taken them up from the County League. He's won the Ifmean Cup. He's had three
20:13times in the proper rounds of the FA Cup. So, unbelievable manager. So, they were always going
20:18to be up there. And I think they've got a real, real good squad and a real good core of players.
20:25We barely had a shot that night. Certainly, I don't think we had a shot on target,
20:30but they're really, really top side and I wouldn't be shocked at all if they went and won it. I really
20:35wouldn't be. And Whitehawk, obviously, you spent a lot of time at Whitehawk. You still in touch
20:41with anybody there? I'm assuming you still keep an eye on how they're doing? Yeah, I always keep
20:46an eye. No, I don't speak to anybody from Whitehawk anymore. But, well, actually, yeah, one person,
20:51Adam Hartley, I think is the fixtures secretary, but he's the only one. But, yeah, it's a good
20:59club and I think that with Sean in there, they'll be absolutely fine. I think their home record
21:06is absolutely ridiculous since he's been in there. As in not this period, but this period
21:12and the last period he was in, I think they've got a ridiculous home record. So, they'll be
21:16absolutely fine. I wouldn't be shocked at all if they ended up finishing in mid-table. I really
21:22wouldn't be. Moving on to the National League South, both Eastbourne Borough and Worthing face
21:28off against Torquay United this week as a hotly contested play-off race continues to twist and
21:33turn. What's the latest from the sports and the Reds, Steve Bone? Yeah, well, Torquay will probably
21:38have enjoyed playing the Sussexites this week because they've got four points out of six from
21:42them. Beat Eastbourne Borough 2-0 at Playmore last Saturday. First team to beat Eastbourne in the
21:49league since the end of November. And then Torquay drew 2-2 at Worthing thanks to a late penalty in
21:54midweek. But having said that, although both our sides have dropped points against Torquay
21:59in the past few days, they're both still really well placed. Worthing in particular, second behind
22:05Dorking, but actually they're only three points behind them and they've got three games in hand.
22:10So, they're almost in sort of pole position. It's in their own hands really if Worthing can
22:14carry on the sort of form they're in. I think they've won ten, drawn three in their last 13
22:18league games, which is brilliant form at this stage of the season. Borough only just behind
22:23them. They're a point behind Worthing, played a couple of games more than Worthing, but had a
22:27good win in midweek to get over that Torquay result, beat Hampton. Both got tricky away games
22:33tomorrow. Worthing are at Slough, Eastbourne are at Boreham Wood, where they've already lost, I think,
22:37in the cup this season. So, it's a really good title race there. There's about five or six teams
22:44in it, but nice to see both of our teams very much sort of at the centre of it still.
22:50Absolutely. And finally, in the SCFL Premier, Hastings continue to lead the way at the top and
22:55by some margin too, while in Division One we have an exciting three-way title tussle.
23:00What have been the main talking points in the SCFL since our last podcast, Steve?
23:04Well, every time we chat, we talk about how many more points clear Hastings have gone
23:10in the Premier, and it's now 17 points clear of the Premier, which in that league at this stage
23:16of the season is incredible really. And actually, just to bring Jude in again, obviously Hastings
23:22were in the play-offs along with yourselves last season. Have you been surprised to see
23:27them dominating that division this year quite as much as they have done?
23:31No, I don't think so. I don't think anyone really has. I think the big shock was obviously when
23:36Hayden Teeth changed manager, I think. I think everyone was sort of prepared for a bit of a...
23:43Before Steve was such a man, obviously, we had people like Trent McReady at the time and so on
23:51and so forth. So, I think you looked at United as well as real possible contenders. Kroger lost a
23:58lot of players, so you did think, will they necessarily be in and around the title? Well,
24:03they'll probably be around play-offs, but I think once Naz left Hayden Teeth, it's just been an
24:09absolute... I mean, Hastings have just been sort of steam train, haven't they? And it's an incredible
24:15job they've done, but they set the structure of the club really, really well and they didn't want
24:22the play-offs to be the limit of what they could do last season. And yeah, they're top, top side,
24:27top side. And just to look at the rest of the SCFL. So, at the moment in the Premier, it's
24:33Roffey, Hayward Teeth, Kroger and Petersfield in the play-off spots. Eastbourne United and Crawley
24:39Down Gatwick are probably the only other two that you'd expect could force their way into that top
24:43five by the end of the season. So, they'll be fighting to the end. At the bottom, a little
24:48common nick to win at WIC last weekend, despite only having had 10 men for a lot of the game.
24:53Still four points adrift. Salt Dean, second from bottom. Those have been the bottom two for quite
24:58a while now, but there are five teams just above them, all separated by three points. So, we're
25:03still looking over their shoulders. And then in Division One, a three-way, as you say, Matt,
25:09three-way sort of thing for the title. Seaford, top. Forest Row, second. Dorkingby, third.
25:16They're all quite close, but they are a long way clear of the chasing pack. Although, of course,
25:21in that division as well, everyone down to fifth gets in the play-off. So, there's a chance of
25:25that second promotion spot at the bottom. Still looking bleak and still looking tough for Old
25:29Fold and Montpelier Villa, the bottom two. And as ever for this podcast, we will pick our games
25:36of the weekend, where we pick our most eye-catching tie involving a club from Sussex. And we'll start
25:41with you, Steve. What have you gone for? Well, to be the Isthmian Premier clash between Chichester
25:47City and Grey Valley for me at Oaklands Park tomorrow at three o'clock. Both came up from
25:53Isthmian South East's end of last season. Grey Valley won it and Chichester came up in the
25:58play-offs. You wouldn't really have expected them at this stage of the season, if you thought about
26:06it then, to be in a sort of play-off six-pointer, when you've got both just outside the play-offs
26:14and right on the fringes of it. Chichester have been on a great run. They've won something like
26:18eight of the last 10, as I said, drew at Dartford in midweek. They've beaten some very good teams in
26:24that run. Grey Valley will be as hard a game as they've had, I would imagine, in that run.
26:30If you're a football fan and you're anywhere near Chichester tomorrow, get down to that game.
26:33They don't get massive crowds. They don't get the crowds that they deserve for what they've
26:37done over the last couple of years. It'll be nice to see numbers boosted down there. But
26:43it'll be a good game that we'll be hoping Chichester get something from it.
26:46I'm going to predict, if you're pushing me for a prediction as well, a 2-2 draw,
26:51something like that, which probably neither side would be too unhappy with.
26:54Yeah, absolutely. My game of the week, unfortunately, is very self-indulgent. It's
26:59Horsham v Chatham Town in the Istvan Premier. Chatham Town is the place I was born and Horsham
27:04is the place I've lived for 30-odd years, so it's now been christened as the Matt Poldarby.
27:08Hornets are looking for a 12th win in 13 and could go top if Dartford and Billericay
27:13drop points against Hendon and Lewis respectively. But yeah, it's all heating up in the Istvan Premier,
27:17isn't it Steve? It'll be a very exciting Chichester season. For those who don't know,
27:22who are Eastbourne Town up against this week, Jude, and how are you and the squad feeling
27:26going into this weekend? We have got Hyde at home, so it's one that
27:36our form has been different, whether it's home or away. We've been pretty,
27:40win one, lose one, draw one all year. So, I think it's again, our form has been quite good against
27:47the teams beneath us in the league. So, you'd hope, sort of touch wood, that we can put in a
27:54good performance and hopefully try and get something from the game, especially that Hyde
28:00haven't had the best away form. I'm obviously setting this up now fully for Hyde to go and beat us,
28:05of course. But yeah, we're obviously, fingers crossed, the win will get us to 40 points. So,
28:13I think that's the absolute focus for us all. And we could also say just to fans in the Eastbourne
28:20area, with Eastbourne Borough away, if you've not got a game to go to tomorrow and you haven't seen
28:25Town this season, get down to the Saffrons and you'll be entertained for the afternoon.
28:30Yeah, let's hope so. Yeah. But definitely, I think one thing you can usually guarantee
28:35with us is a real shift. So, you'll certainly see sort of 11, 16 boys putting in a real shift and
28:43hopefully getting a result. Yeah, fingers crossed. Best of luck at the weekend, Jude,
28:48and best of luck for the rest of the season. Well, that's all for this episode. Our thanks to Jude
28:52for joining us. And don't forget to keep checking out sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport for all
28:57the best coverage of local football. Plus pick up a copy of your local Sussex Weekly newspaper.
29:02Join us again soon for another look at all things non-league in Sussex. Thank you very
29:06much for listening and or watching and we will see you when we see you.