JERSEY Bulls cannot afford to dwell on last weekend’s home defeat if they are to continue their push for promotion.
The Islanders were out of sorts as they went down 1-0 to AFC Croydon at Springfield but they have responded well to setbacks already this season and face a Guildford side tomorrow that sit fifth in the table.
Captain James Querée has been forced to watch most of the season so far from the sidelines as he recovers from injury.
And while he admits that the three league losses the Bulls have suffered is “more than we would have liked at this stage”, the skipper is confident in the quality of the squad to stay in the promotion hunt when they reach the business end of the season.
“We had a catch-up as a team after Saturday’s result and what it boils down to was collectively we weren’t at the races.
“I think the message from the lads and from me is we have built a body of work over the last couple of seasons, we will have games that are better than others but we have the confidence in our ability that we will win more than we lose. The good thing is we have a game every week and we get a chance to bounce back on Saturday.”
Defender Querée was an unused sub against Croydon as he continues to return to fitness but, in his absence, the Bulls have picked up a string of clean sheets with Ben Le Rougetel in particular impressing.
“I try to do a lot of stuff outside of football to keep myself injury free. I think this is the longest I have ever been out with injury so it has been tough and I have been desperate to get back out there,” Querée said. “We set our goals for the start of the season to aim for promotion and we knew then that it was not going to need more than 11 players to do that.
’I’m no different to anyone else just because I happen to be captain – I’ve got to get back and earn the right to be in the squad.
“Credit to Sam Sutcliffe and Ben Le Rougetel – we had a good run of clean sheets which speaks for itself.”
Despite being fifth in the league, Guildford have been vulnerable at the back. Only 18th-placed Sheerwater have conceded more than the Surrey side, who shipped six last weekend against Knaphill.
Querée said:”Coming out of last week’s performance it is about getting back to how we want to play the game and imposing ourselves and our style on the teams we play.
“Of course, we will respect Guildford – they are a good team – but we need to make sure we play our way.
“Their pitch is quite exposed so the weather might be a factor. It can be quite muggy and wet and might have all the elements you would expect to see at non-league level.”
Bulls have had a few injuries to contend with this season, but boss Gary Freeman is able to welcome back Miguel Carvalho and Jack Boyle, who were both unavailable last weekend.
The captain added: “We have a fully fit squad bar a couple. Given the lack of a break over the summer [due to the Island Games] that is probably one reason why we’ve had a few niggles that have kept people out but we’ve got guys getting back to fitness and that is a healthy position as a group.”
Jersey Bulls squad: Euan Van der Vliet, Jonny Le Quesne, Jay Giles, Harry Curtis, Luke Campbell, Adam Trotter, Francis Lekimamati, Luke Watson, Lorne Bickley, Jack Boyle, James Carr, Sammy Sutcliffe, Miguel Carvalho, Ben Le Rougetel, Seaney McColgan, James Querée
