IAN HOPES TIME IS UP ON CURFEWS’ STEP 4 STAY
IAN SELLEY reckons Chertsey Town are ready for promotion to Step 3 – but he knows Hanwell Town will think the same about their own aspirations.
The Curfews finished second behind runaway title winners Bracknell Town in the Isthmian Division One South Central.
Selley knew that counted for nothing against Basingstoke Town on Wednesday and despite the healthy looking 4-1 scoreline, he stressed their late breakaway goals hid how close the game was.
They overcame the red card to keeper Nick Jupp and navigated through with striker Scott Day between the posts, and Selley says confidence is high.
“We’ve still got another job to do,” he said. “For us, the boys believe they can get promoted, we believe they can get promoted and the club is ready to get promoted.
“We’re one step away from what we wanted to achieve in November. But Hanwell are a good side and be thinking exactly the same as we are.
“It’s a question of who turns up on the day and no doubt it will be very close.
“We finished second in the league for a reason. We’ve played well and got some good results. So we will be confident but we respect how good Hanwell are.”
Promotion would be another milestone for the club who won the FA Vase three years ago under former Wimbledon boss Dave Anderson, before sealing promotion the same season.
Former Arsenal, Woking and Kingstonian midfielder Selley took over from Kevin Maclaren in November and he’s enjoying his first No.1 role in the dug-out.
“Chertsey is my hometown club and I was there as a coach when Kev was there previously,” Selley said. “When I got offered the job I knew most of the players and we’ve only brought in three new faces so it’s effectively the same squad.
“We go about it a little bit differently now. We’ve got a lot of ball players in there so we try to get the ball on the ground. They play with a lot of confidence, if they make mistakes it doesn’t matter, it’s about getting on the ball and showing what they can do.
“We’ve had a lot of clubs coming in for players offering more money but, touch wood, they all seem happy. I think they’re enjoying the environment they’re in. When you’ve got that blend it can help get you over the line.”