Chairman's Notes | Cheshunt FC

For the second weekend in a row we face one of the clubs who were relegated with us from the National League South last season and while we are eyeing the play-offs Cheshunt, like Concord last week find themselves fighting to avoid back-to-back relegations and looking at both clubs it speaks volumes about the strength of this division.

I haven’t seen any teams this season that really stand out from the crowd to the extent we have seen in prior seasons, I guess if I had to pick one based on performances against us it would be Chatham. I thought Hornchurch were clinical against us but the results flattered them and whilst Billericay, who currently round out the top three, were in top form against us in our away fixture (the only game this season in which we have failed to score), four defeats in their last five games tell the broader story of any team being able to take points off anyone.

Most significantly for our ambitions this season the teams who currently occupy the play-off spots have averaged fewer than 3 wins from 8 matches since the turn of the year and so the forecast for the number of points needed for 5th place has dropped considerably in the past month. That shouldn’t mean we should aim for less but our prediction that we could only afford to drop points in three more games after our defeat at Chatham on New Year’s Day now looks like more than enough.

We have already begun planning for next season and we want to have those plans in place by the end of March, we have built a squad and a team that is delivering on the pitch and has rebuilt the relationship with the fans so it’s important we build on that foundation. That means acknowledging the feedback we get about the ‘revolving door’ with players over the past few years and the progression having a settled side has brought since October has been clear to everyone. Whether we can deliver promotion this season or have to go again next time, avoiding the slow starts of the past two seasons will be critical to our chances of success.