The upcoming fixture is the first after the departure of Shaun Gale following a 3-2 defeat to Beaconsfield Town last week. Assistant First Team Coach Ben Kneller will take charge of the Boro’ squad against The Robins on Saturday.

Kneller is tasked with getting the Boro’ team going again after only 1 win in the last 11 league games. The team has not been short of chances in the majority of those outings, but a tendency to fail holding on to a lead on several occasions means Boro’ are sitting in 16th place, 5 positions below this weekend’s opponents.

Boro’ boss highlights the quality that sits within his team despite the recent lack of form and sparse tally of points. “We’ve got capability and we’ve got quality within the squad” says Kneller.

In his first game in charge of the team, alongside First Teach Coach Jake Wigley and Goalkeeping Coach Steve Manning, Kneller looks to bring positivity back into the camp and translate that onto the field:

“We trained last night and it was bright. We try to get some smiles back on faces and that can be difficult.

“We’ll look to instil some belief, because that’s difficult after the period we’ve been through since October. We’ve struggled to get results over the line, whether the performances have been there or not, unfortunately the points haven’t followed.

“We need to give the wide boys like ‘Bags’ [Abdulai Baggie], Billie [Busari], Bradley Tarbuck and Kyal [Williams] freedom to go and run in behind, go and be exciting, go and express yourself in the final third, and we can defend with real pride and if we work hard, I think results will come.

“The squad is very good, I have the utmost trust in all of those players - young and experienced.

Bracknell Town have made a positive impact on the Southern League Premier South after being promoted from the Isthmian League South Central Division as Champions with a wide gap of 20 points over their nearest contenders.

The Robins visit Privett Park off the back of a televised Emirates FA Cup First Round clash against League One title-contenders Ipswich Town, where they exited the competition by a margin of 3 goals. Their last 5 matches saw 3 victories, a draw and a loss, whilst totalling 13 goals.

“They’ve got some good players and a clear identity on how they play. They’ve been promoted last year and they’re on that wave, they’re on the confidence train” says Kneller, but assures his team are more than capable of getting a result on Saturday afternoon.

“As much as you need to show respect to teams like Bracknell…we need to make sure we do what we are able to do and we apply ourselves as well as possible…we need to understand that we’re as good as anyone in this league.

A figure which Boro’ can boast about is the attendance numbers at the AEI Stadium, which have consistently been in the mid 600’s since the start of the season, and currently account for the second highest in the league.

Asking the Manager how important those fans at Privett Park are to the confidence of the team, Kneller says “it’s very important - and the fans have been brilliant.”



“We need that support and it’s been so good this year. I’d like the fans to be a little nosier and more vocal…we need to make Privett a really difficult place to come, and the fans will add to that…I urge everyone to come tomorrow.

“We’ve got a good squad and I’ve got a belief in the squad in what they can do…when you play on the front foot, we need to be bright, we need to be brave and if we can do that alongside the fans coming in their numbers I think tomorrow we can get a result.

Kneller takes over during a season plagued with unfortunate injuries and suspensions, and tomorrow’s fixture will also provide a test, as Harvey Rew and Andreas Robinson remain unavailable due to suspension and an ongoing injury respectively.

Issiaga Kaba, who started his first league match in Gale’s final game as Boro’ boss, is available again after pulling up early with a knock to the knee. “I thought Issy was absolutely fantastic in the first half [against Beaconsfield], I think he covered every blade of artificial grass” assesses Kneller.

In further positive squad news, Danny Hollands is back from a one-match suspension, and Hawks loanee Sam Magri returns after an unfortunate fall in training last week.

The fixture against Bracknell Town will include the 2022 Remembrance Ceremony before kick-off. Fans are kindly urged to familiarise themselves with the order of proceedings before kick-off, which is listed below.

2.30pm.  Atmospheric music commences and will be played in between matchday public address announcements. The music choices reflect the military history and tradition in the town of Gosport. 

2.45pm Bearer party to assemble in the tunnel area. This will consist of (as at present)   Terry Hulson, Graham Culton and Mick Murden. Terry is well known to us all at GBFC and will be joined by Mick, a veteran who served on HMS Exeter during the Falklands conflict and also in Bosnia, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.

Graham was a Highlander who served in Bosnia and Northern Ireland. He will be joined by his partner.

2.50pm. The players and match officials will make their way onto the pitch accompanied by the naval song "Hearts of Oak" which has connections to the Portsmouth field gun crews several years ago.

They will be followed by the bearer party. 

2.52pm. The players will form up around the centre circle, and when ready, the referee will blow his whistle to mark the beginning of the ceremony. 

Terry Hulson will lay the wreath in the centre circle, accompanied by Graham and Mick.

The eulogy will be read by Jeremy Fox, Vice President of Gosport Borough Football Club. 

"They shall not grow old, as we that are left, grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. We will remember them."

2.54pm. At the conclusion of the Eulogy recorded cannon fire will be played immediately followed by a recording of the last post. The recording is from last year's London Cenotaph ceremony and performed by the Royal Marines Band.

There will then be a ONE MINUTE SILENCE.

The silence will be broken by the Reveille, recorded by the Light Infantry Division band. 

 The Kohima Epitaph is read by Jeremy Fox, GBFC Vice President.

"When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today". 

The recorded cannon fire will be played again to mark the end of the ceremony with the referee simultaneously blowing his whistle

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