First Team manager Gavin Rose chats about the Romford defeat, the upcoming FA Cup tie...and more!

Gavin Rose answered a few questions from Hamlet Pitchero in this EXCLUSIVE interview!

It must have been disappointing to lose at Romford. How upset are you?

"Obviously I'm upset, especially knowing that financially we missed out on a lot of prize money. But in contrast to the the two previous games, which were very tough physically against Godalming, the boys were very tired. I had to rest one or two, I'm not sure people appreciated how physically tired they were. Lewis Gonsalves had to come off at half time, suffering from fatigue. Dean Carpenter left the field soon after,as well. Lots of them were physically drained after the game, our squad is so small. What we have to deal with, as the management, is two games potentially in an average week. If that happens then we may have to concede that we don't have the luxury of a large, experienced squad. We have lots of developing youngsters who are inexperienced,we don't want to put too much pressure on them. With regard to money won so far in the FA Cup, if it's not invested back into the playing budget, which I believe is the right thing for the Club to do, I would probably have to release three players, as we can't afford to keep them all."

On Saturday, Phil Wilson was out injured, and others are carrying knocks, which could be seen as we reshuffled the side on Saturday. How busy is the treatment room?

"Very! Ethan Pinnock is injured,been out for at least two weeks; Kalvin for over three. And we have been playing others just 'patched up'. Ahmed Deen is another one we are missing. Without those players it is extremely hard to compete each week. There must be some realism as to what might happen over the season."

The fluke goal before half time at Romford caught us, but Paul in goal seemed to do ok, and saved another penalty. How much of his progression is down to your re-introduction of a Reserve side?

"Oh, definately. It makes young players very confident, playing against men. Against St. Albans they had six or seven older, experienced players opposing them, who had all played First Team at higher levels. They certainly would not get on that learning curve, if we didn't have a Reserve Team."

It's the next round of the FA Cup, at Arlesey Town, this coming Saturday. What do we know about them? How tough do you expect it to be?

"Very tough! They have a lot of ex-professionals & are a level above us in the non-league pyramid. It's hard to speculate on the result, but they have much higher budget than us.They'll certainly know their round the pitch & what it takes to win the game. Sure, they are high up in their league table, but leagues are not won at this time of year. We'll give it a go."

And so to our League. apart from the reverse at Crawley Down Gatwick, we've been in good form. Are things on track & who do you expect to be our main challengers in the promotion mix?

"Erm, to be honest it's quite hard to name teams at this early stage of the season.But I would have thought the likes of Maidstone United, Merstham & Folkestone Invicta will almost certainly be up there.One thing I do think, is that unlike last year, when it was just ourselves, Bognor Regis & Whitehawk, it will be more competitive generally."

Finally, I understand that one of our promising youngsters, Xavier Vidal, is off to Norwich City on trial, which can only be a good thing for the Club, in terms of publicity & attracting more talented youngsters. How do you ensure they go to the right clubs?

"It is a difficult thing, to guide them, when professional clubs come looking,but in this situation he's only been scouted by Norwich. We simply can't stand in the way of any seventeen year old who has been scouted by Premiership club. It is worth bearing in mind that nothing has been signed, sealed or delivered. They are just having a look at him at the moment. If more clubs come chasing him, we will be there at his side to offer advice & support, helping him to choose which ones are best for him.Which is what we have always done for our most promising youngsters."