‘In management and in life you look forward, not back’ – Danny Bloor on his return to the Eastbourne Borough dugouts

Old adversaries – let us not say foes – will face each other both on the pitch and along the touchline, as Bloor sets foot inside Priory Lane for the first time since his departure in the summer. And his Welling United team and coaching staff will look extremely familiar.

In the hurricane of change which swept through the club in the summer, new owner Simon Leslie – guided no doubt by his CEO Alan Williams – opted to bring in Mark Beard as the man to lead the team forward to hoped-for National South success. Bloor is understood to have been offered a role in the new set-up, but in retrospect, that was always improbable.

Danny Bloor took over in the Priory Lane dug-out early in season 2019-20, with the club in pretty dire straits after a summer of off-field upheaval. He kept the side afloat in National South that season – before leading Borough to three top-eight finishes. His whole-hearted approach and relentless energy and optimism created a bond with supporters.

Eastbourne Boro v Worthing – the match in 113 photos.

Speaking exclusively to the Herald in midweek, Danny steered away from any hint of confrontation. “Listen, football moves on all the time, and in management and in life you look forward and not back. I hope that I did the very best job that I could in my seasons at Eastbourne Borough, and now I have a new project at Welling United.

“You could very well say that I’ve swapped the best job in Sussex for the best managerial job in Kent!

“We are only ten games into the season, and as it happens we are both building a new side pretty much from scratch. I actually have only one player left from last season’s Welling squad – and that is Antony Papadopolous, the man who scored all three goals in our Cup win at Dartford!

“This is another fixture with another three points at stake, and that is all it is. Mark will be working and planning just as thoroughly as we are doing, and this has the makings of a really good match.”

Neither club has yet set the league alight. Mark Beard is a different character, but an astute professional and his own man. The fixture might be one that he could have done without. The full-time project launched at the start of June has fizzed and sparked, but not yet roared to full throttle. His squad looks lively, and it plays exciting football – although without hitting the net often enough.

Striker Zak Emmerson, brought in from Albion via Blackpool, looked the part up front last Saturday – when the Sports played as frustrating a ninety minutes as their supporters will see all season. Worthing escaped from the Lane with a 1-0 victory which tipped Borough out of the FA Cup.

And the squad was weakened by some key absences – notably its two most experienced players in Alex Finney and club captain Brad Barry. The manager will be banking on a return to fitness for that pair and for two or three others who missed out last week with knocks.

To most of their regular observers and supporters, the feeling persists that the Sports have a four- or five-goal performance in them – and some opposing side soon will feel the full force.

But Danny’s Welling United – also newly forged in a busy close season – will surely fight fire with fire. Bloor has never yet set up knowingly for a nil-nil, and his policy while in charge at Borough was generally to “equalise before the other team score” – as the great Danny Blanchflower once put it.

The current Wings squad includes former Sports Mitch Dickenson, Jack Burchell, James Vaughan and Lee Worgan – who doubles as goalkeeping coach. And Bloor took his entire coaching staff with him to Park View Road – so the away technical area will feature the likes of Ben Austin, Nic Arnold and Teddy Bloor.