Hastings United boss ‘not really’ concerned by results

Chris Agutter says he is ‘not really’ concerned by Hastings United Football Club’s recent results.
Jamie Fielding wins a header during Hastings United's 2-1 defeat away to East Grinstead Town last weekend. Picture courtesy Scott WhiteJamie Fielding wins a header during Hastings United's 2-1 defeat away to East Grinstead Town last weekend. Picture courtesy Scott White
Jamie Fielding wins a header during Hastings United's 2-1 defeat away to East Grinstead Town last weekend. Picture courtesy Scott White

Hastings have won just one of their last six Bostik League South East Division matches, yet find themselves third in the table with nine games to go.

Asked if he has any concerns about (recent) results, Agutter, Hastings’ manager, said: “Not really. It is what it is. Only one of the top nine won on Saturday. The league is competitive.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

See also: * Hastings United drop to third after defeat to East Grinstead* Hastings United ‘set up quite nicely’ for last 10 games* Hastings United boss: Young players doing us proud“If the league was straightforward and easy to get out of, Hastings would’ve done it three or four years ago when they had far more resources and bigger name players.

“It’s not easy. It’s a tough league to get out of, but what we’re doing is remaining calm; we’re not getting too stressed out by it. We’ve got a young group of players and it’s all learning experience really.

“People around us might be getting a bit twitchy and nervous, we’ll just be calm and remember we are where we are.

“We need to stay positive and that’s really the word to be honest. There’s no need for negativity. If anyone’s negative about what we’ve done this year, I don’t know what they’re expecting to be honest. I think we should be really happy about what we’re doing.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Agutter rued ‘missed opportunities’ during last weekend’s 2-1 defeat away to East Grinstead Town.

“It was a game of missed opportunities really,” he said. “I think we missed good opportunities at key points in the game. When I watched the game back, I’d forgotten how many good opportunities we made in the first half.

“Credit to them; they had a couple of chances and took them both. They were more clinical in the opposition box than we were.

“It (the overall performance) was alright. First half was better than the second. You’ve got to give credit to East Grinstead - we prepared for the shape they played in their previous few matches and they used a completely different one.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Credit to them in terms of how they prepared. They completely changed what they do to face us.”

Bostik League South East Division top half (played-points): 1 Cray Wanderers 26-65 (+38 goal difference), 2 Horsham 27-52 (+21), 3 HASTINGS UNITED 27-50 (+22), 4 Haywards Heath Town 27-49 (+15), 5 Ashford United 26-48 (+26), 6 Whyteleafe 26-41 (+13), 7 Hythe Town 27-40 (+7), 8 VCD Athletic 25-38 (+2), 9 Ramsgate 27-35 (+5), 10 Phoenix Sports 26-35 (-3).