Rocks reinforcements on way: Bognor Regis Town boss on mission to boost squad

The Rocks dig in at Folkestone - but it ended in defeat | Picture: Trevor Staff

Robbie Blake has vowed to leave no stone unturned in his quest to bolster the Rocks ranks.

The Bognor boss says he must improve his squad to address a recent dip in form and to compensate for players out injured.

It comes after Blake saw his side slump to a 4-1 loss at Folkstone Invicta in the Isthmian premier division last Saturday (see a report and picture special here) and lose skipper Harvey Whyte to a hamstring injury to compound a miserable road trip.

With Calvin Davies a long-term absentee with a knee injury, Blake believes he must add strength and quality to his squad to spark a resurgence that could propel the Nye Camp outfit to the play-off places.

Blake said: “It’s clear we need some new faces with new energy and new impetus because the results don’t lie and I’m the first to admit we have not been good enough. I’m not saying that the boys haven’t shown commitment and work ethic because they have. There is nothing wrong with their effort. But when you see players consistently failing to do the basics then it’s time to think again and that’s what we will do.

“We have contact with a couple of players who we would like to bring in and discussions are continuing as to how we can make this happen and there are others potentially in the pipeline as well. We need to change it up a bit and go again. We have the nucleus of a good side here but that will become a better side if we have stronger competition for places. Players with a bit of something about them react to competition and this can only be a good thing across the board.”

Bognor have collected just two points from their past four games but get the chance to leave their league woes behind this Saturday when they travel to National League north side Banbury United for an FA Trophy third round tie.

Blake says he wants his players to replicate just how well they played in the previous rounds when they recorded impressive wins at Weston-super-Mare and Lewes – and at home to Bowers & Pitsea before those two games.

He added: “It’s going to be a tough game, make no mistake but we have shown we are more than capable of stepping up and we will remind the boys just how well they have done to get this far and reiterate they can do well once more.” ends