8:00am Thursday 18th March 2010
By John Boyman
FRANK Gray thinks Woking might still be in the Blue Square Premier if he and assistant Gerry Murphy had been left in charge.
The Basingstoke Town boss took over at Woking in May 2007 but was sacked less than a year later. He left the club well clear of the relegation zone, but they suffered the drop 12 months and two managers later.
“I would like to think Woking would still be in the Premier if we were there but that is all hypothetical,” Gray said. “It did not give me any pleasure when they were relegated though. Our brief was to stay above the relegation zone and we did that, but a new chairman came in and decided he wanted to do things differently.
“Things like that happen in football and you have to accept that strange decisions are made from time to time.”
Gray will return to Woking for the first time on Saturday, when he will take his Town side to Kingfield for a Blue Square South fixture (kick-off 3pm).
The Basingstoke boss is looking forward to the game, but insists that he will not be side-tracked by his past.
“It is a game we would obviously like to win but it’s about the three points at the end of the day,” Gray added. “What happened at Woking is gone and finished. The most important thing is getting a good result and we will focus on that more than anything else.”
Despite being reduced to 10 men in the first half, Woking won 2-1 when they visited the Camrose back in September. However, they have not won any of their last eight games – a run that has seen them slip out of play-off contention.
Town are also struggling and a big problem in recent weeks has been conceding early goals. They have gone behind during the first 10 minutes in four of their last five games, something Gray admits they need to rectify.
“We have not been starting well enough recently,” he said. “We have got to get that right, prepare ourselves and focus properly, which is what has been lacking.”
Gray has a number of selection issues, with Sean Hankin out after breaking three bones in his hand and fellow centre back Lewis Christon doubtful with a thigh strain.
Goalkeeper Richard Barnard is over a serious virus but is struggling due to work commitments. However, defender Ashley Mitchell should recover from a knock in time to play, while striker Mitchell Bryant will return after illness.
Gray is likely to stick with the midfield diamond he utilised in last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Dover and he has signed midfielder Josh Webb after his release from Eastleigh.
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