Faversham boss Tommy Warrilow is surprised at the absence of traditional fixtures in the Christmas calendar.

Warrilow was out of football this time last year, enjoying a break from the game after leaving Ashford United.

He was a couple of weeks away from taking over at Salters Lane, with Sammy Moore about to be sacked by the ambitious Southern Counties East Premier Division club.

Twelve months on and Warrilow will again be going without football on two of the major dates in the season.

This time, it’s down to the league’s fixture scheduling, opting to play games only on Saturday instead of the Isthmian League’s two games in three days policy.

“We haven’t got a game on Boxing Day or New Year’s Day,” said Warrilow.

“Last year I was out of football but all the time I’ve been in football there’s always been Boxing Day and New Year’s Day games, and this year it’s not the case.”

Faversham didn’t play at the weekend, either, as scheduled opponents Tunbridge Wells were in FA Vase action.

The Lilywhites’ final game of 2024 will be a home game against Whitstable this Saturday (3pm).

Warrilow’s side remain second, two points leaders VCD with two games in hand, while the Oystermen are 12th after beating Kennington 3-0.

“If Whitstable put a run together they’ll fly up the league,” said Warrilow. “It’s a mad league.

“You can lose a few games but you put a little run together and you’re right in amongst it.

“A few of the leagues are quite tight this year.

“I wouldn’t get carried away with where we are.

“We’ve got to enjoy it, and we have had a good start, but that doesn’t get you anything.

“We’ve got to crack on and make sure we don’t drop levels or standards and make sure we keep working hard because this is an unforgiving league where form goes out of the window.”

Warrilow is hoping it will be a big 2025 for Faversham as he bids to lead them back to Isthmian South East.

They missed out in last season’s play-offs, beaten on penalties by Corinthian in the semi-finals.

But there’s huge potential at the club, which was clear to Warrilow when he accepted chairman Gary Smart’s offer to take charge almost a year ago.

“It was 100% the right thing to have some time out after leaving Ashford,” said Warrilow.

“There were a couple of calls but I had some things to sort out and then when Gary called, it was a no-brainer because everyone had heard what was going on at Faversham, myself included.

“It was quite clear to see the club’s vision and it’s our job to get them over the line this season.

“We’ve had the disappointment in going out of the FA Vase but you can’t dwell on things too much.

“We got a good three points in our next game against Bearsted and we’ve got to keep ticking the games off.

“Coming up to halfway through the season, if we can keep the same stats going, we’re not going to be a million miles away.”