On Easter Monday, Welling United play their final Vanarama National League South away match when they visit Chelmsford City.
Their crushing defeat at home to Maidstone United on Friday meant that they were consigned to relegation and they will be plying their trade in the Isthmian League Premier Division next season.
Since beating Worthing in mid-March, the Wings have claimed just one point out of twelve and have been thumped in their last two. After the Maidstone game, caretaker manager Brian Statham said “Any relegation is hard to take no matter what age you are, or at what level. Welling have been, for the last four or five years, flirting with relegation and I guess that your fortune runs out at some point and this year has been that year.”
He had hoped that he could get Welling out of the mess when he took over. He said “I genuinely felt that I was good enough in terms of my man-management, motivation, organisation, that I could keep us up and for as long as it wasn’t mathematically impossible, I could still do that but it wasn’t to be and there’s only so much you can control. When the players are out on the pitch, they are out of your hands. You can’t control any of that and you’re relying on the quality, the decision making from the players during games and when you make poor decisions, inevitably the outcome is obvious.”
Statham knows that many at Welling have been proud that the club has not played lower than at Step two for over forty years. “They have been at this level for many, many years and it’s a real shame.” he said. “But if we look at what happens next, it’s a total rebuild on and off the football pitch in order to get the club sustainable.
“The turnaround of players happens quite frequently at Non-League football clubs. “I don’t think it should but it does. It’s happened this year when we’ve probably had in excess of fifty players across the course of the season and that can never be positive for squads consistent performances. That’s never going to help camaraderie that teams build when they’re successful.”
While Welling were being beaten by Maidstone, Chelmsford were losing one-nil at bottom club Aveley. Their current form is identical to Welling’s with four defeats and a draw in their last six outings.
It will be the return game between Welling and Chelmsford this season as they met at Park View Road on Boxing Day. The Clarets claimed an only goal victory with former Wing Osman Foyo scoring with five minutes remaining. At home, Chelmsford have won eight, drawn eight and lost six.
Statham will try and put a side together but injuries are mounting and he may again have to play square pegs in round holes. He will hope that one or two of the players missing on Friday, Chiori Johnson, Harvey Walker, Zain Walker and Dave Winfield are able to play some part as Deon Moore had to be replaced around the half an hour mark and may also be an absentee.