Lover's future in doubt

3:32pm Wednesday 20th August 2008

ROSS Lover's future remains unclear after a quick return to Cray Wanderers from Welling United failed to materialise.

Lover, who quit the Wands for Park View Road in the summer after signing a one-year contract with Welling, quickly realised he had made a mistake according to Wands boss Ian Jenkins and asked if he could return to his former club.

Jenkins was keen to have one of his most prized assets back on board and was planning to sort out a deal with the Wings before the season began.

However, Jenkins was left bemused when Cray's attempts to contact Lover by phone fell on deaf ears after the player didn't answer his calls and now a major question mark hangs over the player's future.

Jenkins said: "Ross rang me after playing a game for Welling saying he hadn't enjoyed it and wanted to return.

"Cray were more than happy to try and sort out a deal with Welling to get him released from his contract before the season got underway.

"But when I returned from holiday, I tried to get in contact with him but he hasn't returned any of my calls.

"I'm a bit surprised to be honest. He's a good lad and I thought I knew him better than that.

"It would be good to have him back but obviously it isn't an option at the moment and I don't really know what the situation is."

Meanwhile, Jenkins claimed last night's shock 5-0 defeat to the Metropolitan Police was a freak result.

He believes his side's performance did not warrant a defeat of such proportions, but feels Cray created enough chances to have scored a hatful themselves.

However, after conceding seven goals in their first two matches, the Wands boss feels it may become an issue.

He explained: "It was a crazy match, we didn't play too badly but just couldn't find the back of the net. It was a freak, freak result.

"We created enough chances to have scored five, six or seven ourselves and saw shots cleared off the line on a number of occasions.

"It was just one of those games where if you don't get the rub of the green, you can easily find yourself adrift, but it was disappointing to be on the end of such a score-line.

"At the moment it is only a small worry because we usually out-score teams, but if it continues it will obviously need to be addressed."

Despite the setback to their push for promotion, Jenkins still feels his side have a good chance of improving upon their third place finish last season and admits new signing Shawn Beveney will have a large part to play.

He said: "Our aim is to get promoted. I think we are better equipped this season.

"We have lost three players but gained five during the summer and have quite a big squad of 21 players.

"Shawn was a fantastic signing and we will be relying upon him a lot this year to get forward and score goals. He's a great guy and has settled in really well here.

"He was a bit non-existent last night, but he's a good player and we've already had to turn down offers for him."

Looking ahead to the Bank Holiday weekend, the Wands boss is hopeful he will get a good reaction from his players and go on to secure maximum points from their two fixtures against Leatherhead and Merstham.

The Wands travel to Leatherhead on Saturday and then host Merstham at home on Monday and Jenkins is expecting firm challenges from both but is optimistic his squad has the strength and depth to overcome their opponents.

He said: "Leatherhead away is always a tough match. They've been a bit of a bogey team for us in the past, but we managed to break that last season.

"I don't know too much about Merstham, I'll make a few phone-calls to some managers this week or get someone out to watch them.

"But they've just been promoted so I am sure they are a decent side."

Although Jenkins wasn't overly displeased with his team's performance, he is planning to ring the changes for the two league matches.

He explained: "Having said all that, we still lost 5-0 and this shouldn't happen. A few players were under par and sometimes they have to look at themselves and ask why they didn't perform.

"It was always part of the plan to make changes anyway because we have two matches in three days, but this has given me something extra to think about."

Cray Wanderers have no suspensions for the forthcoming matches, but Matthew Lee and Jamie Wood are both set to miss out through injury.

Lee has strained his thigh on his recovery from a broken leg, while Wood has a back problem.

Both will be out for around two to three weeks.

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