The remarkable story of Cray Valley Paper Mills rise continues this weekend as Steve McKimm takes his new Isthmian Premier side down the A2 to face Jake Leberl’s Dover Athletic at Crabble sitting second in the table with the only team above them so far… their hosts for the afternoon! 

Valley travel to the coast with 34 points from their seventeen games played with McKimm joking, “Just six more – two more wins and we’ve hit our first target of forty points!”

“We’re all delighted to be where we are; we have started the season well after taking a couple of games to get into it! We then got a rhythm going and we have done very well in the last eight games and we just have to keep continuing that.”

“Me and the staff know what this League is about and the teams that are in it and “all” we are trying to do is to combat their strengths and attack the weaknesses… and so far, so good!” 

“I have to admit that I’m not that surprised at how quickly we have adapted to this level because they are honest, hard-working players; we have quality in the changing room all over the pitch.”

“We’ve added quality to it after people left and we just seem to be going from strength to strength at the minute. There will come a time I know when we might hit a bit of a road block, but at the moment while we are riding high, we must enjoy it, cherish it and keep trying to continue it!” 

Contemplating with us why his side have done so well so far, McKimm conceded, “A lot of the players were better than the level they were playing last year when we won the League.”

“They have stepped up this year and maintained the levels and standards and work ethic that we met last year, and they are getting their rewards for it.”

“Myself, Barry (Moore, McKimm’s assistant) and my staff have been involved in Step Three and Step Two being successful at it!”

“We know more about this level than we did the level below when we went in last year, it is down to the players work ethic and what we want from them – carrying out what we want from them to do in a game! They are doing it at the minute and are getting their rewards!” 

Looking forward to their mouthwatering weekend trip to Crabble, McKimm was trying not to build up the clash of the top two in the division – he said, “People have said that before, but we are only eighteen games into the season.”

“After ten more games, we could both be out of the picture at the top, you never know, so at the moment it’s just another game of football and we will go there and give it our best shot and a good account of ourselves as a Football Club.”

“Dover I am sure will do the same – I know Jake Leberl very well; played against him numerous times. He is a very good footballing person, who is giving Dover, after two years of heartache after their relegations, so much joy.”

“That is always good to see when people like Jake who you know in football are bringing good things to their football club.” 

“I used to love playing at Crabble as it was always a good atmosphere in terms of the crowd – not nice of course towards the team that you were playing for as visitors!”

“Crowd is usually large and noisy and because they are doing well, I would expect a good few there at the weekend and that’s what we have to come up against as well as a good footballing side!”