Sittingbourne return to the Staxson Stadium, Woodstock this weekend hosting Eastbourne Town as they continue their pursuit of leaders Ramsgate with manager Ryan Maxwell keen to keep the pressure on.

After watching his side recover from a disappointing defeat at Merstham last weekend by beating Hythe Town on Tuesday, boss Ryan Maxwell told KSN, “Tuesday’s three points at Hythe was important as I think it showed that we can bounce back on a difficult Tuesday night away from home on a difficult pitch – it looked all right until you walked on it and tried to pass the ball about on it when it bobbled all over the place.”

“The game itself and I was very pleased with the reaction and the performance. They were given a penalty that was very, very soft – we had to manage that disappointment, which we did which was one of a lot of positives from Tuesday night.” 

“Another positive was the performance of Mitch May returning in great form – he was excellent and back to his old self which is great news and great timing for us; him and Ade (Azeez) were a constant threat between them. The other one was Lukey Woodward making his “second” Brickies debut after being out all season so far with injury he picked up almost a year ago when he came off injured against Ashford.”

“To have him back is a huge, massive boost – I thought he was fantastic winning the tightest balls in midfield from the word go and his impact was huge in the dressing room I can tell you.”

“Delighted with him, delighted with Mitch; we changed the team around a bit resting a few legs that needed rest – Richie (Hamill) and Troy (Howard) for example. Everyone who played at Hythe all played well – delighted!” 

Reflecting on the defeat at Merstham where everything that could go wrong for Sittingbourne did, Maxwell said, “We haven’t had many of the days that we had last weekend! The bottom line I suppose is that it was a disappointing day but it was an incredibly close game and we unfortunately ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline, but what was most important for me was Tuesday’s reaction and to bring the gap back at the top back to seven points is still all very much to play for…”

“Ramsgate have a very tough selection of matches coming up (including hosting Merstham this weekend – the only side to have beaten the top two this season); we cannot control those, but we know that they are playing against teams who are fighting for fifth spot in the table which will be difficult in itself,” Maxwell conceded.

“We just have to focus on what we are doing – whatever happens at the end of it, we must make sure that we have given it absolutely everything until we play Ramsgate on the last day of the season.” 

“Saturday, we face an Eastbourne Town side who have done very well to all but seal their place in the league for next season. Hopefully they will have a relaxed attitude where the three points isn’t the end of the world for them.”

“They have got themselves into a safe position, but that leaves them relaxed and therefore dangerous because they are playing with zero pressure.”

“We must be totally focused, absolutely at it to make sure that we don’t let their care-free attitude become a problem to us. They are a decent side and make sure that we apply everything as we need those three points.” 

“The reverse fixture was very windy if I remember which made very difficult conditions and on the day itself, we played OK and managed to get the three points and get out… even though the game were finished under just three floodlights!”