Takeley boss dismisses relegation fears despite five-game winless run

Despite a fifth straight game without maximum returns, Takeley boss Duncan Easley insists his side are still setting their sights on the upper reaches of the Essex Senior League rather than looking over their shoulders at the drop zone.

The Station Road side dropped back into the league’s bottom four with a 3-0 loss at Eton Manor, the outfit directly above them in the table prior to the encounter.

With the game goalless at the break, two sloppy goals at the start of the second period put paid to Takeley’s hopes of a first away league win of the campaign and a late third was the final nail in the coffin from another disappointing outing.

Easley told the Broadcast: “We had a fair bit of possession but we could not take the three or four chances that we were afforded at the end of the first half.

“Having ridden their luck, Eton came out of the traps a bit quicker than us in the second half and they’ve struck twice, helped by our poor defending, and again it’s the same old story for us.

“It’s obviously not been the greatest of starts but we’re still aiming to finish as high as we can in the league. We’re not going to start worrying about relegation because we have enough at this club to avoid it.”

In possession of the league’s worst scoring record, Easley has taken appropriate measures to bolster his attacking options with new arrivals, although not in time for Saturday’s tough home league clash with promotion-chasing Ilford.

He continued: “We’re hoping to sign a couple of forward players in the next week or so.

“We know we have to do better in the final third so these players will hopefully help us improve our scoring statistics.

“More goals will mean more points and then we can start climbing the league.”