Bromley point a good one for Saints

SAINTS boss Steve Castle says he is happy to see his team remain undefeated despite seeing their winning run bought to a halt by Bromley.

Leon McKenzie’s 65th minute equaliser ended the Saints’ hopes of a third straight victory but Castle felt it was still a good point against a team second in the table.

“It wasn’t a game full of quality. They tried to play but the pitch wasn’t conducive to flowing football,” the City manager said afterwards.

“We had two lads up front who I’ve said to them that hard work is the minimum and they gave me that. We’re always looking for more quality in the final third but I take the consolation of keeping us undefeated in the New Year and we’ll go from there.

“Objectively after the game you probably look at it and they are second in the table and I think they showed more here than they did at home.

“We were a little bit disjointed with James Fisher having to go absent due to flu. We brought Adam Everitt into left-back and Pete Smith into midfield so it was a little disjointed. Losing Matt Hocking as early as we did made us a bit disorganised.”

Castle hopes the team’s improved recent form will help bring the crowds back to Clarence Park and help boost the club’s coffers at a time when they are stretched due to the lack of fixtures prior to Christmas.

“We’re looking for a bit more support. We have had two wins but that’s probably not enough,” he said.

“It would be nice if we could get ourselves on a real winning run which may or may not bring people back, I don’t know. It’s as tough as it’s been since I took over but there’s no point complaining about it we just have to carry on.”

The Saints also find themselves with a spare Saturday this weekend due to Eastleigh’s continued participation in the FA Trophy but while Castle admits the situation is frustrating he feels the players deserve a rest after a busy start to the New Year.

He said: “It’s frustrating to a degree but from that we will get a few people back. The lads have worked hard there and Ben Martin is always struggling with the knee so we will get him wrapped up in cotton wool because I thought our centre-halves were excellent.”