By Joe Harbert

Faversham Town manager James Collins insists it is going to be a long journey ahead for his side this season.

The 37-year-old, who only joined the Lilywhites at the start of November, has not seen his new team in league action since their 1-0 victory against Three Bridges nearly a fortnight ago.

Collins, whose side managed a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Whitstable in the Velocity Trophy on Tuesday, also hopes to have at least three new additions to Salters Lane this week, as he continues to strengthen his new squad.

“It’s obviously a work in progress getting to understand all the players, and it’s going to be a long journey, so I’ve been kind of trying to learn on the job,” the former Chatham boss said.

“Where we’ve had two midweek games recently it’s meant we’ve lost out on two training sessions, so I’m trying to give players as many minutes as possible.

“A couple of players have left us, but we’ve also brought in a couple of bodies already, and transfers depend on what we can get, but we’re looking to improve in all areas if I’m honest.”

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One of the players to leave the club was Matt Bourne, who joined Ashford United. The 33-year-old centre-half made more than 416 appearances for the Lilywhites having been at Salters Lane since 2010.

Collins added: “We’re a bit light on numbers so we do need to bolster the squad a little bit.

“The under-23s have played a lot of first-team games which is great because that gives them experience, but they need a little bit of help.

“So we’re probably looking across the board at improving all departments of the team, but we’ve got some good players here so it’s not a case of getting rid of everyone, it’s a case of improving each department.”

The team sit 12th in Isthmian South East and are just six points off VCD Athletic who occupy the division’s final play-off place in fifth.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s league match at home to Whitstable, Collins believes improvements are just around the corner.

He added: “The game on Saturday is going to be tough.

“We played on a very heavy pitch on Tuesday and it would have taken a lot out of both sets of players.

“But we’re trying to progress week-on-week, so there will be changes with probably three or four new faces in the side.”

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