PROGRESS IS ON SIDE OF ANGELS!
McKimm is setting Tonbridge sights high
STEVE McKIMM says it’s time for his Tonbridge Angels side to kick on and improve having survived their first campaign back at Step 2.
Angels finished a creditable 15th in National League South last term having been promoted via the Super Play-Offs the year before.
McKimm – the second longest serving manager in the division after Gavin Rose at Dulwich – admits the Kent club found the step up tough but everyone at Longmead Stadium helped the team get through.
Now entering into his seventh season with Angels, the former Sutton United boss believes his side deserve to compete in Step 2.
“We knew how hard last season was going to be,” he told
The NLP. “I kept the majority of the side who got us promoted because I felt they deserved the opportunity.
“Our budget is tiny compared to the rest of the division, it’s certainly in the lowest two or three. The board have no reason to lie to me, we all know the situation and, to be honest, they have been just brilliant throughout my whole time at the club.
Ruthless
“We started terribly last year. I think we had two red cards in the first three games, including our keeper Jonathan Henly on the opening day, and it seemed the bad luck stayed with us. The National League South is a ruthless division, other teams will punish your mistakes.
“The boys got to grips with it, though, and after Christmas we won four, drew four and lost one so we were doing really well when the season finished.”
McKimm takes the positives from having avoided a relegation dogfight before the season was curtailed, but the former Ebbsfleet and Farnborough midfielder knows it will take another strong collective effort to best the Angels’ highest finish of ninth in this division, achieved eight seasons ago.
That said, McKimm has already bolstered the squad this summer and will be further helped by the return of key players Kristian Campbell and Alex Akrofi, returning to the club from Eastbourne Borough and Aveley respectively.
Privileged
“Every club, every manager and every supporter should be looking to improve on what they’ve done before,” he added. “Last season it was about staying up, that was the most important thing. This year, we have to look to kick on.
“I am not going to aim for the play-offs just yet, but we will certainly give it our best shot. You’ve got smaller clubs like Dorking and Slough in there this year so it’s not out of the question for us to be in the top seven.
“We have a really good base and we’ve brought in a few players to help us. Kristian Campbell has come from Eastbourne and Alex Akrofi has returned from Aveley. He scored 34 goals in 68 games for us before he left in 2018.
“Tom Beere and Tom Parkinson are both back after a year out with injuries. They’re like two new signings so it’s a really exciting squad that’s starting to come through. I feel extremely privileged to be managing this team.”