Securing status key for GFC ahead of stadium move

Guernsey FC are on the road as they face Hartley Wintney in Isthmian South Central’s first fixture of the season due to the 2pm start time.

Record goalscorer Ross Allen insists they have the potential to improve on last season's 18th place finish, but emphasised the need to be realistic too.

‘We know the strength of it now and the difficulty of staying in this league, so for me it’s always survival,’ he told the Guernsey Press Sport Podcast.

• Listen to the full interview with Ross Allen here

‘But within that and the players we’ve got, there’s what we know we can do and the way we can play.

‘You look at that result against Marlow away last season [when GFC won 4-2 at a side who were promoted at the end of the campaign]. We just played them off the park and I don’t look back to that game thinking I had the best game I’ve ever played and Matty [Loaring] had the best game... we all just did our jobs. Actually I didn’t touch the ball that much, but it was the interchange of movement, the way we used the ball intelligently, defended as a unit, worked harder than them, all the basic stuff.

‘If we start doing that every game there’s nothing to say we can’t have a good top-half push.

'But I’ll always say if we can survive in this league, it’s a real achievement with the resources that we’ve got.

‘Hopefully the stadium, things like that, bringing through more youth players of a higher calibre, those are the stepping stones to pushing up and trying to become a top-half club, a play-off pushing club.

‘But it’s not just going to happen by fluke over the course of a few months, one season, it needs to be a long-term process.’

Hartley Wintney finished 10th last season and did the double over GFC, winning 2-0 at last November before edging a close game 3-2 at Footes Lane in April.

They have already started their competitive season, having beaten Downton 3-0 in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup last weekend.

Much to the delight of the GFC faithful, though, Allen reported that he feels enthused by the challenges ahead this season.

‘Probably to my detriment, I’ve been telling everyone I’m all in,’ he said.

‘Looking at it now, I’m really excited by what this young team can do and I understand my role within the group is now to almost be a bit of a coach on the pitch and educate and lead, to get on the ball and try and help dictate play more, more so than maybe I’ve done in the past.

‘So I’m really excited by that challenge – a new learning challenge for me as well.’