MARK Bentley believes some of his young Hayes & Yeading team-mates may have underestimated the quality of the Blue Square South this season.
United have had three management teams during a disappointing campaign, in which they have fallen well short of the targets set last summer.
Promotion had been the aim, having only come down from Blue Square Premier last season, but a relegation battle ensued as the club struggled to retain Conference status.
Bentley, the squad’s oldest head at 35, reckons a lack of experience was a key factor in them failing to live up to their play-off aspirations.
“At the moment only me and Adam Everitt are in our thirties, and we have played a lot of games at this level as well,” he said.
“I think it’s important that you understand this level. We’ve got a lot of young lads that have come from the academies and it’s a different culture and a different way of playing.
“If you come from Tottenham or somewhere, you might come with the mentality that you think you’re too good for this level of football, but it’s not the case. This is proper men’s football and sometimes you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and it’s not pretty. You’ve got to compete and if that’s new to you, which it is to a lot of the lads, it’ll be tough.”
Despite the lack of experience, Bentley believes that should the current group of talented youngsters stick around, United will reap the benefits.
He continued: “I think after a year or two at this level they can kick on. They’re a talented bunch of lads in our dressing room and it’s just about getting the mentality right and knowing how to mix the game up a bit.
“Playing in the games is how you’re going to learn it. Potentially they’ve got good futures here and hopefully they won’t underestimate this standard now and will be much stronger after the summer.”
The past two seasons have seen a lot of faces come and go, but to make a success of next season Bentley believes that team spirit in the United squad will be essential ingredients.
He said: “It’s really important to get that togetherness. I think we’ve lacked that a bit this year with the players coming in and out. It happened as well last year; we had 60-odd players and ultimately that probably cost us our place in the Conference Premier.”
