Lancing manager and former Albion winger Dean Cox says Non-League Day is the biggest day of the season for a lot of smaller clubs.
With Non-League Day happening this Saturday, during an international break, clubs benefit from increased attendances and greater profile.
“If we get an extra £1000 from Non-League Day that pays our players for the next two months,” Cox said. “We did a crowd-funder recently that raised £1500, so that was three months’ wages and it was huge for the club.
“I know it sounds dramatic, but we have to be run incredibly prudently. The chairman Steve Taylor has a tough job and he’s got my full backing because he’s kept things afloat when things have got tough. Non-League Day is the biggest day of the year because of that. That additional cash will keep things going.”
Cox, 35, took over at Lancing in mid-December and was set with the task of steering the club away from trouble in the Pitching-In Isthmian League South-East division.
With six wins and two draws in 15 league games since he took charge, Cox’s team are 12 points clear of the two automatic relegation places, but only two above the two relegation play-off places. Lancing retained their place in the league by winning a play-off at the end of last season.
“Recently we’ve not been great. We had a cracking start and the previous week we got a good point at top of the league Ramsgate,” added Cox. “Nobody gave us a chance that day so getting that point gave us a good springboard to go and win the following game [against Faversham].
“Two wins from our remaining six games would take us up to 40 points which you hope will be enough. We want to avoid the play-offs and get it done mathematically.”
Dean made 179 appearances for us, having come through our academy before departing in 2010. Stints with Leyton Orient, Crawley Town and Eastbourne Borough followed, and Lancing is his first taste of management.
“Management is something I’ve always wanted to do. Living locally has helped. I wasn’t really looking for a job at the time but I’ve done a lot of coaching and I jumped at the chance. I wanted to get in and start somewhere and we’ve done alright.
“It’s different to being a player, you get a different buzz. It’s a lot harder, you have to get everything ready – prepping the training session, speaking to people and organising things. I have a lot more brain ache because I spend a lot more time on the phone, but I am enjoying it.
“There’s obviously a big difference between part-time and full-time. Our players have 9-5 jobs so that aspect I have had to get used to. It’s not the be-all and end-all which I have grown to understand because when you’re a full-time player football is your life.
“We train two nights a week so you have to be more lenient and understanding. I respect where I am at and it’s good to learn to adapt to different situations.”
Lancing are at home to Three Bridges this Saturday, with supporters allowed to pay whatever they want for entry to the game.
There’s plenty of other non-league football taking place in Sussex this weekend.
National League south: Worthing v Havant & Waterlooville.
Isthmian League premier division: Lewes v Potters Bar Town. South-East division: Burgess Hill Town v Chatham, East Grinstead Town v Ashford United, Lancing v Three Bridges, Littlehampton v VCD Athletic, Whitehawk v Cray Valley PM.
For fixtures in the Southern Counties Combination League throughout Sussex click here.
Don't forget - Albion are away to Reading in an important WSL game on Sunday. For details of how you can watch the game with fellow Albion fans click here