Hampton's Dev up for third Blue Square South campaign (From Surrey Comet)

Hampton's Dev up for third Blue Square South campaign

2:00pm Friday 15th May 2009 in

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Hampton & Richmond Borough boss Alan Devonshire has shouldered full responsibility for making sure his side is ready for a third Blue Square South title tilt.

The Beavers lost 3-2 to Hayes & Yeading in the play-off final last week, to repeat the heartache they suffered 12 months ago at the hands of Eastbourne Borough.

Goalkeeper Matt Lovett, Ian Hodges and Lawrence Yaku have already commited to another campaign and player-coach Dudley Gardner is convinced the rest will follow suit.

Devonshire has already enjoyed unprecendented success with the club since he arrived in 2003, including lifting the Ryman League Premier Division title two years ago.

But he insists Thursday’s disappointment has not dulled his desire to take Hampton to the highest level of non-League football and he must get his players to think the same.

“People questioned whether the players could do it again after the last play-off defeat and we went one step further and finished second in the league,” he said.

“I want another crack at it with Hampton. I’ve got to do what I did as a player and give it my best shot. I’ll do that again as a manager next year.

“It is my job to make sure this team stays together and is ready to come back to do it again next year. There is no reason why we can’t.”

Hampton were beaten by the better side on Thursday, but Devonshire reckons that doesn’t make defeat any easier to take.

“Last year a refereeing decision cost us. We didn’t get the bit of luck we needed this year, but we can have no complaints,” he added.

“We conceded a fluke goal when we were 2-1 up. If we had stayed in the lead for longer, who knows what might have happened. It is no-one’s fault. We win as a team and lose as a team.

“It is hard to watch your hard work amount to nothing, but I think the boys let themselves down a little bit on the day and that makes it hard to take.”