Ryan Maxwell has “summoned the troops” ahead of Sittingbourne’s run-in at the end of the season as they pursue promotion to the Isthmian Premier League. 

With Ramsgate set to tie up the Championship of the South East division on Friday by possibly winning at Hythe Town, Maxwell has issued a rallying call to the Brickies supporters, underlining just how close his side are to joining the Rams in the Premier division next season, albeit now almost certainly through the treacherous path of the play-offs. 

Last season Maxwell’s side fell at the semi-final stage but this season they head towards the end of season with a near perfect home record at the Staxson Stadium with, going into their final two home League games, only Beckenham Town denying Sittingbourne a goal and the three points even though on that day, the manager looked on in almost disbelief as his side hit the woodwork no fewer than five times as the sides drew 0-0! 

The Brickies boss told us, “I will be most interested in the atmosphere we have at Woodstock on Friday – I “need” a good crowd; the team “needs” a good crowd as we want to keep our home record intact – there’s a lot to play for as its second versus third ahead of the Play Offs!” 

“Friday may be the day that Ramsgate win the League and that is factual,” Maxwell admitted, adding, “It has been out of our hands and have been for a while now – we have done all that we can as it is still in the balance even now but we know what things are and know that a betting man would put a bet on Ramsgate winning on Friday versus Hythe.  

“That won’t ignore us as we have a job to do still as we face a very difficult game with Burgess Hill at Woodstock – they are third and a very good team and we have to make sure that we focus on that and don’t get distracted by what’s happening elsewhere because it really hasn’t been in our hands for a while.  

“That shouldn’t change, and I will be more interested in the atmosphere we have in the ground on Friday – I need a good crowd; the team needs a good crowd as we want to keep our home record intact – there’s a lot to play for as its second versus third. It’s the Easter weekend, hopefully some sunshine and an early kick-off; what a great day in prospect and we have to enjoy the day!” 

“Our game at Burgess Hill in October was one of the best that we’ve had this year and we won thanks to goals from Ryan (Kingsford) and Troy (Howard), and we were only talking about that night the other day! It was a game where we took a certain approach to tactically, and on the day, it worked well, and we as a team looked very strong.

“But take nothing away from them as they have had fantastic runs at time this season – they are an excellent side and have added some players since we played them, and ultimately, they are in the Play Offs now no matter what and must be respected because of that. I expect a very different type of game on Friday on a pitch different to the soft one we played on there – this one will be hard and bouncing all over the place and that will bring its own challenges.” 

“That said we know what Woodstock is like as we have only dropped two points here in the League all season – it’s an absolute fortress and we need to keep it one come the end of the game.” 

“We had our little blip but are back on a great run of form again – winning our last five on the bounce. We are in a good place and have had four clean sheets in a row and the boys really are chomping at the bit and at it at the right time.  

“We had an unbelievable Trophy run and maybe just got caught as a bit of a distraction because of it which is understandable. It did put us a little bit behind where we wanted to be but what a phenomenal ride it was and then we have had a couple of small blips in our form, but we have recovered from them now and are on another winning run at just the right time!” 

“We’re coming into the business end in great form and last Saturday was brilliant at East Grinstead – five goals from five different goal scorers, everyone was an eight and a half out of ten on a hot day on a difficult pitch which will be similar I expect in the games that we have left. As a team we were excellent, and we changed a few things, and the boys took them on really well!” 

“I haven’t forgotten that we have another game on Monday as it’s a game that it is a massive fixture for both sets of supporters, and I know for a lot of you, it was amongst the first fixture that you looked for when the fixtures came out in July. 

“Games against Sheppey are always special and hopefully it will be a great day on Monday hopefully with a big attendance. We want big days as that’s what it’s all about for all Clubs, and hopefully you will travel onto the Island in numbers! We know that it will be a different game from Friday – it’s a derby which we know will be a bit spicey.”