New Lordswood boss Nicky Southall believes there is still time this season to mount a challenge towards the SCEFL Premier Division play-off places.

He picks up a Lords side sitting 11th in the Premier Division table and was thrown in at the deep end on Saturday, taking to the dugout before he had even taken a training session, in a 4-2 defeat to Holmesdale.

The former Gillingham favourite, who has management experience with Whitstable, Dover, Maidstone, Ramsgate and as assistant boss at Priestfield, was thrust straight into decision-making on Saturday.

Lords conceded two early goals, inbetween one for themselves. A change of formation helped to get them level at 2-2 but ill-discipline proved costly and when they went down to 10 men, Dale hit them twice more late on.

Southall said: “We went 1-0 down after five minutes and I’m thinking ‘flipping heck, what’s going on here?!

“We equalised, they then they kicked off and a minute later we were 2-1 down.

“We changed shape after 15 minutes as it wasn’t working, playing a 4-1-4-1 was a bit too negative, we were giving cheap fouls way and ill-discipline eventually cost us. I made a sub and the boy Artem (Kuchkov) got sent off within five minutes of coming on and we were down to 10 for 20 minutes. I felt we could have gone on and won the game.

“There were a lot of positives and I kept two up top with 10 men, we had a stonewall penalty that wasn’t given - I don’t miss the refereeing! - and the sending off was probably a yellow. It was a strong challenge but I think it was more the reaction from their players and the bench.”

Southall had his first training session with the team on Tuesday and hopes to implement his own ideas, with a view to setting them up more attack-minded.

Director of football Jason Lillis had been handling things in the interim period, following Matt Barman’s resignation early this month, but asked Southall to get involved straight away at the weekend.

“I was in at the deep end a little bit,” Southall admitted. “I am looking forward to the challenge, there are some good players there. We are currently mid-table, the goal is to make the play-offs and that is my expectation to the players to at least fight for them.

“We aren’t even halfway through the season and it’s all to play for. Tuesday was my first night working with the boys, I am looking forward to implementing my ideas, my vision and my expectations for them.

“On Saturday before the game I said to them that I know we’re five levels below professional but you can be as professional as you want to be, you can still adapt and look after yourself, how you eat and drink and do what a professional would do.

“I want them to be professional every time they turn up. The training has to be high standard, high tempo, the organisation will be as it would be as a professional and they need to buy into it and I think we will see some big improvement quickly.

“I will be making changes, I want to put my own players in there, but there are already some good players there like James Jeffrey who scored again on Saturday, I like his attitude and we have some good pace in the team.

“I have always been an attack-minded player. I want us to be on the front foot and playing in the opposition's half, closing the ball down and trying to create chances and goals. As a player you don’t want to be a sitting target, I’d want to put my game on my opponent and influence the game in their half instead of sitting behind the ball.

“I said to the players that I want to improve them and I want them to come up to me and say ‘you have improved me and I have gone onto bigger and better things’, that is me doing my job, I would get more from that than anything else.

“I have had it in the past. I ended up looking after the Gillingham youth team for a while when Darren Hare had his heart attack and Bradley Dack was standing out in training. I brought him through into the first team.

“I want to push these players, I think if you can do that it reflects well on you and other players will look and think, ‘I want to go there because he believes in a style of play and won’t stand in anyone’s way if bigger and better clubs come looking’.”

Southall, 51, was last involved in football at Ramsgate, as assistant manager alongside Jamie Coyle. Having left there at the end of last season, the former Hartlepool, Grimsby, Gillingham, Bolton and Nottingham Forest player took a well-earned break from the game.

He works full-time as a green keeper at the Weald of Kent golf club but, having had some time off from football was itching to return.

His appointment as Lordswood’s new boss was announced last Thursday and he gets to take charge at Martyn Grove for the first time this Saturday in a SCEFL Premier Division match against Snodland Town.

He said: “I got fed up sat at home during the weekend doing nothing. The guys behind the scenes here have some great ideas and they sold the challenge to me.”

Southall is joined at Lordswood by former Sheppey United coach Ross Wiles as his assistant - a man who has been instrumental in building up the youth section during his time with The Ites.

Wiles briefly stepped in as caretaker manager at Sheppey earlier this season.

Southall said: “He is a lad who knows a lot of players around the levels, a lot of under-23 players, he is a good coach, good among the boys, he is organised and as a manager he fits all the criteria you want.

“Ross knows a lot of players, younger players, the budget isn’t massive so that’s probably what we’re looking at.

“I am pleased to be working with him and hopefully we can forge a relationship and we can start picking up points. It would be nice to get a first win at home on Saturday against Snodland.”