New Herne Bay manager Kevin Watson rules out wholesale changes and will give current squad a chance to impress

New Herne Bay manager Kevin Watson won’t be making wholesale changes to his squad.

Watson has taken charge of two games in his first week and faces another crunch Isthmian Premier clash this Saturday when Bay host Wingate & Finchley at Winch’s Field.

But with a busy Christmas schedule on the horizon and Watson keen to give his current squad a fair chance of implementing his methods, don’t expect a deluge of new arrivals.

“It’s a strange time of the season,” said Watson.

“Traditionally if you’re at a club and get the opportunity to identify targets and speak to them then it’s a bit of an open forum in pre-season as everyone can speak to everyone.

“At this time of year we’ve got to identify players, wait seven days and then speak to them.

“It needs to be right for them to come to this level, the travelling to Herne Bay and be willing to be part of what we’re going to do.

“There’s lots of caveats and things to consider if we’re bringing players in.

“Obviously, the squad as it is has a few injuries with Marcel Barrington, Michael West and Jack Parter out so we need to assess when they will be back as well.

“At the moment the squad is relatively light so there is an opportunity to bring some new faces in if people want to come on board.

“In essence, have we dismissed bringing people in in the short term? Absolutely not. Will the current players get an opportunity? They have so far and will do, yes. We can’t and won’t make wholesale changes.”

Bay sit seven points adrift of safety in the league, a spot occupied by this Saturday’s opponents.

Victory will cut that gap to four and see Bay have a game in hand but defeat extends it to 10.

“However we get the points, whether it’s against the teams in and around us or those higher up