Competition

Date

Saturday 29th August 2009

Collier plays down exit talk

By Ned Payne »

Marine boss Mark Collier has admitted he “is not in a great position” after his side suffered their fourth straight Southern League defeat on Saturday, but remains confident he can turn around the fortunes of his team.

 

The Hunts Copse outfit were defeated 2-0 at Halesowen Town on Saturday, but Collier, is hoping his troops can kick-start their season with a win against visiting Banbury United on Bank Holiday Monday.

 

He said: “At this moment in time I’m not in a great position but football can change very quickly, and that may well happen. “I wouldn’t want the players to think I’m having thoughts about leaving or getting sacked. I’ve not had that discussion with anybody. “It’s important everyone at the club sticks together because we’ve had some good times and now we’re having a little dip. “We’re a little deflated at the moment, but as I said to the lads, there’s no point complaining about it. “Only us staying with our beliefs and passing the ball will get us round the corner.”

 

Supermarine were condemned to defeat at the weekend by strikes from former Aston Villa man Stefan Moore and a controversial late effort from Tom Bates. And now Collier has multiple injury problems to contend with ahead of today’s game after Ady Williams and Gary Horgan picked up injuries on Saturday. Williams looks set for a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury while Horgan is struggling with the reoccurrence of a rib problem.

 

Ash Edenborough is still out but Luke Hopper and Sean Wood will come back into the squad after missing out on selection against Halesowen. “The players know we haven’t become a bad team over two or three weeks,” added Collier. “We expect to turn the corner, but we know we have to work hard to do that. The main thing is we’re not playing badly.”

 

Meanwhile, Supermarine skipper Kyle Lapham (pictured) has told the Swindon Advertiser that the captain’s role was not taken off him, as was reported in the Advertiser on Friday. Lapham said he approached Collier saying he wanted to concentrate on his own game, and was aware a more experienced player had signed for the club in Matt Robinson, who has since been given the armband.