Despite finishing outside the relegation places by 12 points last season, Punjab United assistant manager Jindi Banwait has described the 2018/2019 season as “one of the hardest seasons” he’s experienced.
Banwait and the manager of the Gravesend club, Jugjit ‘Chipie’ Sian, have been speaking to KSN following the success of the BBC documentary surrounding the club. You can read the first part of our interview with the pair here.
Punjab United finished 17th in the Southern Counties East Football League Division One last season in the club’s first campaign in step five of non-league.
“It was one of the hardest seasons I’ve had as an assistant and where I am in terms of coaching. I think we did more work than we’ve ever done to maintain our status [at that level]” said Banwait.
“We may have been working four times a week. And that’s not just us, the players were coming and saying ‘what can we do to get us out of this rut’” he adds.
It was a tough year for the club as they stared into the bottom two from above. “we played our cards right. We knew who were were and psychologically, we never went into the bottom two. We were hovering above it, but once we found our feet the reality set in” said Banwait, who acts as the club secretary as well as assistant manager.
The manager of the club added “We had some clashes in the changing room. We went out to a few players and said ‘pull them together’ because if we don’t do that, we might have been relegated.”
Chipie, who also acts as the chairman of the club after starting Punjab UNited in 2003, added “I think we did struggle. It was a tough season. We sat down at the start of the year and said it was going to be a tough season. If we stay up we’ve done our job.
“We’re the first Asian team in Kent to go up to this division and compete against teams with a history of 100 years of history.”
The BBC documentary put viewers though the trials and tribulations of the final matches of the season as Punjab United looked to stay in the division. Key to this was the more experienced players in the squad.
One of these players was ex Ebbsfleet United, Dartford and AFC Wimbledon centre back Paul Lorraine. “he was very important. Definitely one of my best signings in management” said Chipie.
He’s been a breath of fresh air to this football club” added the United gaffer. “The way he conducts himself; the way he talks and communicates; he’s a role model to everyone in this football club – and that goes for everyone. In the youth to the senior teams”.
Since leaving the professional game, Lorraine has picked up teaching and is a well known face around the community. “That’s an added bonus” said Jindi. “The fact that he’s at our club is fantastic. Even as coaches, we’re more aware now of the way we conduct ourselves on and off the pitch.”
The focus of their pair is now on next season as the club took to truly stabilise their position as a step five club.
“We want the same thing again, we want to go in sharp. To be honest we want to go in and be better than we were last year” said Chipie, adding “the clubs around us have improved. Managers are moving around, players are moving around. I think it’s going to be a really tough season.
“If we can get everyone fit for the start of pre season, we’ll go again. I think we can do really well.”