DS: I always knew what I wanted to achieve when I joined the club, so I never really put a timescale on that. My focus has always been on reaching those targets, and giving back to the club where I enjoyed many years as a youth team player.

How did the opportunity to manage the club come about?

I had not long come back from an ACL injury that had kept me out for over a year. I was only back a handful of games at Ashford United before I did it again.

At that point I was given a bit of lifeline, and was initially approached by Graham Oxley - the former Kennington chairman - to take over the club’s reserve side. I said I’d give it some thought and a couple of days later he called again to offer me the first team job, which at 23, I jumped at the chance.

I understand you had to overcome a big challenge before your first game?

It wasn’t ideal - I was involved in a car accident with one of my players, Adam Mercer, on the morning of my first game in charge. I could barely walk after and Adam was unable to play, but thankfully we were both okay.

We travelled away to Deal Sports in the Kent County League with no fit forwards and two full backs leading our attack!

I knew then that management was going to be one hell of a rollercoaster. As it turned out, we ended up playing exceptionally well and won the game, 3-0.

What do you think has changed about your management style since you started?

I don’t think there has been a single game where I haven’t learned something about either myself, my players or the opposition. The main thing I’ve taken from my time so far is that the less respect you show, the more vulnerable you are.

The standards you set yourself are heavily dependent on your mentality and what motivates you most. You have to be prepared for any eventuality, and having that ability to adapt is often the difference between winning and losing.

You’re a school PE teacher by profession – do you think there are skills and qualities that overlap from your day job into the dugout?

I think it really helps. You naturally have that ability to communicate and show empathy towards players. The game has changed immensely in the past decade, and that mental side of the game is so important in building a positive relationship with players and strong, collective environment for your squad.

What have been your personal highlights of managing Ton, so far?

There have been so many incredible memories - winning the Kent County League at home to our title rivals, Greenways is certainly up there, alongside taking the club into the FA Vase, and this season, the FA Cup.

But I think my proudest moment was finding out we had been promoted to the SCEFL and would be playing Step 6 football for the first time in the club’s history.

What advice would you give an aspiring young manager?

There is certainly a place for young managers in the game, and I would recommend it to anyone that seriously has the drive and ambition to do it.

It’s often a relentless and thankless job, but the rewards are worth every minute and give you a buzz like nothing you can imagine.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s FA Vase game at Glebe – our first back after lockdown. What are your thoughts on our opponents, and how challenging has preparing for the tie been?

It’s an extremely tough tie for us, but one that as a club we relish and look forward to. Glebe are a very strong side, that will no doubt be extremely fit and well organised.

They have some ridiculous fire-power in their attack, so we’ll be looking to carry our strong defensive unit into the game.

Preparations have been difficult, but the players have put a lot of work in over the past four weeks to keep themselves conditioned to a reasonable level.

Calvin Sedenu is well on course with his recovery and we expect him to be fully fit and available - it’s likely he’ll captain the side on the day, with Gary Clarke still a couple of weeks away from returning, although he is showing great progress in his rehabilitation from a hamstring tear.

We’ll train hard on Thursday, and give ourselves the best opportunity to approach the game with the right mentality.

What would it mean to you to take the club into the third round for the first time?

Every season we seem to be breaking new territory, and so every opportunity we get to make more history for the club, we look to try and grab with both hands.

We have a great support, and it’s unfortunate they can’t be with us on the day - but we’ll doing everything we can to try and get through, and hopefully it won’t be too long before they can return.

SUPPORTER INFORMATION - VS GLEBE

Article Photo: Ken Matcham