Buckland maintains top six is where YM want to be

YM are currently lying in ninth place in the Southern Combination Football League Premier Division, and face high lying Pagham this Saturday, after their game the weekend previous against Eastbourne United was postponed due to a frozen pitch. Naturally Buckland was disappointed with the postponement, with him hoping that his side could carry on from their win against AFC Uckfield Town.

“For the first game in a long time we were only two short of a having a full first team.

“We had a midweek friendly down at Steyning on the artifical surface to keep the momentum going, and then it gets called off, so it’s very disappointing.”

YM have strenghtened their side going in to their game with Pagham, signing defender Tom Hamilton from Dorking Wanderers, who joins Adam Hunt and Mark Cave as new acquisitions for the club.

“However, this is offset by the fact that YM still have six first team players out through injury, but Buckland believes that the young players he has at his disposal will step up to the plate.

“For the first time for me being at a club, here lies the benefit of having an under 21s side.

“If I look at my bench for Saturday, five are under 21 players. I keep saying they’ll be tomorrow players, not today players. They’ll be playing down here for many years once most of the current squad will be sat in their armchairs with a pipe.”

YM’s opponents Pagham find themselves in fourth position and are currently unbeaten in four games, but Buckland is quietly confident that his side can grab a result if recent history is anything to go by.

“We’ve had the measure of them this season. We beat them down there in the FA Vase, and we drew 0-0 at home. Even the most even minded person would have said we bossed the game but unfortunately we just didn’t score.

“I’ve got no fears about them. We always put a performance on when we play there.

“This being football though, I’ll say we’ll get something out the game and then we’ll end up getting beaten 5-0.”

With over half of the season gone, and Horsham YMCA in ninth place, Buckland believes that his side has the ability to push on.

Buckland also stated that the 2017/18 season will see a rejuvenated YM side that will be looking to push for promotion.

“The aim is to finish top six, and it’s always been top six. Next season you will see a different YMCA, and a different Pete Buckland. We will have exclusivity over the ground, we will have a reserve side playing alternate Saturdays and it’s so much easier to manage.

“I’ve had to maintain and keep happy a basic squad with no alternative football whatsoever for them.

“You can have 17/18 players, but if you have a good starting eleven and they happen to keep going with say ten back to back wins, what do you do with the other five or six players?

“They’re not going to be happy sitting on the bench week in week out.

“In having a reserve team next season, at least I can say sorry you’re not playing, but you will be playing 90 minutes in the reserves.”