Read the gaffer's thoughts ahead of our fixture with Hampton & Richmond Borough

Good afternoon and welcome to Champion Hill.

I’d firstly like to thank you for the welcome I have received from you since joining the club. Being at Dulwich Hamlet is everything I expected it to be working here, and indeed more, in terms of being a very friendly and welcoming environment, a proper community club that is inclusive of everybody and I feel very lucky that they’ve given somebody like myself the opportunity to go and show I’m good enough to compete at the level. I’ve loved every second of my time here so far, which I think I’ve said to anyone who has asked me! I’ve embraced every second because it is a great opportunity.

In my time here I have seen the players grow in belief. The ideas we have thrown at them have perhaps been a nice change and may be a different and refreshing approach from myself and the staff. Sometimes players may just need different ideas thrown at them with a different view, and we’ve introduced some different tools and resources that may be new to them too. One of the biggest success stories so far from my personal perspective as a man-manager is seeing that every player is now buying into what we are trying to achieve as a group and giving 100%, which is leading to more consistent performances.

I’d like to also introduce some of my staff to you. My assistant Daniel Gill, or Gilly, has been someone who I have worked with professionally for the last 20 years, and is a dear personal friend who I trust beyond words. Andy Smith is our goalkeeping coach who I met through mutual friends in the game, and is somebody who did wonderfully whilst at Bracknell Town and helped them with their brilliant defensive record and came highly recommended as a person and as a professional and has been a great addition to the management team. Tommy Cooney is here as a coach, and has played under me in the past and is at the part of his career where he is looking to step into coaching and is someone I wanted to give an opportunity to because he’s so enthusiastic, takes on ideas and wants to learn. We also have a new team of analysts, scouts and a performance lead who will be introduced now we are here permanently.

Looking at our visitors today, I can’t speak highly enough of Gary McCann. He is someone I respect greatly and look up to as a manager with a great reputation and experience. His side will be typical of what he is all about, an honest, hardworking side that will be well-organised and tough to beat, so it will be a very hard game. We need to match the levels of consistency we have achieved in the last few weeks,

Finally, I would just like to say how amazing it is that the club is so inclusive and one big community. It has been brilliant seeing everybody coming together since we’ve come on board and one thing that highlights that more than anything is our relationship with the women’s team and us coming closer together. I attended their game last week and thought the side were brilliant and was great to see them get such a big following. It was a great display against Fulham , we’ve trained together again this week and as weeks go by and we spend more time together, that unity and relationship is getting stronger.

Thank you for all your continued support of the boys, we love the noise of the Rabble on match days, enjoy the game.

Barnesy