UNFORTUNATELY, an extra-time defeat at the hands of Gosport Borough on Tuesday means that we are out of the FA Trophy.

It was a game where I felt our performance deserved better than the result we came away with. For large parts of the game we dominated possession and only an excellent performance from their goalkeeper prevented us from scoring more than one goal.

We are going through a tough time in terms of injuries and suspensions and credit must go to the squad for continually putting themselves on the line.

On Tuesday we lost Manny Williams and Shaun McAuley to knee injuries, while Chris Flood became very tight as we entered extra time, Robbie Rice played through with a very tight calf and David Ray played the majority of the game with a bandage covering a nasty gash on his head.

Liam Enver-Marum is still a couple of weeks away from fitness, Jay Gasson’s toe is still causing problems and Simon Dunn continues to recover from a strain, so we will enter the busy Christmas period not knowing how many players we will have available.

It is tough for most squads at this time of the year, but we will deal with it and I have every confidence that the players will perform to the required level to push us back up the table.

I would like to thank everyone for their support so far this season and hope you continue to get behind us into the new year. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and look forward to a successful 2015.

Regards,

Jason