Frew: Every game’s a cup final now

Barkingside will have to treat every remaining game like a cup final to avoid relegation according to manager Matt Frew, starting against Aveley at Oakside tonight.

A 4-1 loss against table-topping VCD Athletic on Saturday and a 2-0 win for Ware over Soham Town sent Side into the bottom three, but Frew believes they will still stay up.

“It’s tough to be down in the bottom three and as a manager it’s my job to try and pick the boys up again,” he said.

“I can’t fault their effort at all. I hope Saturday was just a blip and I keep telling the boys to just give me all you can and treat every game like a cup final.

“I believe we will stay up, otherwise I wouldn’t be the manager of Barkingside Football Club. I knew it would be hard and I’ll admit it’s been harder than I expected and I think the demands of the league have shocked some of the players too.”

Frew believes that Saturday aside, Barkingside have been playing better of late and is targeting the teams around them to take the drop instead.

He added: “I think we have turned a corner lately, I just hope it’s not too late.

“There are still plenty of points to play for and I’ve got Wroxham in my sights as I believe it’s going to be between us and them.

“We’ve got tough fixtures between now and the end of the season, but so have they and just like we have to win the games in hand we have over Wroxham, Ware have got to win the games in hand they have over us, so a win tonight will keep the pressure on them too.”

Frew says the only objective for the club is staying in Ryman One North and looks to the relative achievements of Romford as a benchmark to match and surpass.

He said: “We are in a tough position but I told the boys that if we stay up it will fell like winning the league and it will be a huge achievement for everyone at this club.

“I look at Romford and what they have done in this league and this is the model to follow. We need to stay up, consolidate and then we’ll be more experienced, I don’t care how we do it, it’s going to be tough but I’m staying positive.”

Frew found it hard to take any positives from the frustrating loss again VCD, though, as Karl Dent and Michael Power put the hosts 2-0 up at the break.

Steve Carvell grabbed one back for Side early in the second half but their hopes were quickly dashed as Nick Reeves restored the cushion and James Duckworth compounded Side’s misery with a late fourth.

Frew added: “It was a hard one and we didn’t turn up on the day to be honest. I feel that if we had, we would have got something from the game.

“Again our problems came from individual mistakes and marking from set-pieces. They were goals that would have been prevented with a little bit of communication and concentration.

“We made some basic errors that I would expect from kids football. I gave them a dressing down at half time and it wasn’t the most pleasant atmosphere because I had to tell them all a few home truths.

“We came back on and scored but then just minutes later they made it 3-1 and the game was gone then.”

Follow @colinmunford on Twitter for live updates from tonight’s match at Oakside.

*Ilford visit FC Romania in the Essex Senior League this evening, having won 1-0 at London Bari on Saturday thanks to an Eden Nelson goal.