by Max Meads, reporter

Tonbridge Angels are one of the hottest clubs in Kent at the moment. The club finished in the middle of the table last season, losing key strikers Alex Akrofi and Nathan Elder after their contracts ran out and were not renewed.

However, Angels gaffer Steve McKimm has been working wonders with the Bostik Premier club. He and the board have made key signings in all the positions they needed to, and sit comfortably on top of the table, with a one-point lead on second-placed Worthing with a game in hand.

“It’s unprecedented, really,” McKimm said to me today.

“We finished smack in the middle of the table last season, but we had a really strong preseason and we’ve been able to carry that over into the beginning of this league campaign.”

In their pre-season friendlies, Tonbridge Angels faced off against a multitude of clubs from vastly different levels of the English game.

Their preseason campaign started off with losses at home to Whyteleafe and Gillingham, but an impressive lob by new signing Alex Read against Tomas Holy saw them score against the Gills, who are five leagues higher than the Angels.

Four wins in a row followed, which included a 7-0 domination of Herne Bay away from home. Their preseason was wrapped up with a 1-1 draw to Nottingham Forest’s U23s.

“I am very pleased with the hard work from the squad and the staff, it has made Tonbridge a great environment to work at and it has translated into some good wins both at home and away.”

“We’re doing very well and I have a great squad out there week by week, but we need to be careful getting too carried away with ourselves as we’re not even a quarter of the way into the season!”

When asked about what he feels is the key to success with the Angels this season, McKimm had plenty to say.

“We are aiming to take each game as it comes. We’re looking at them like individual matches, not as a larger group.”

“There are no weak teams in the Bostik Premier in my eyes. Each game is important to win.”

“Obviously our good form has made us confident, but it hasn’t made us arrogant or cocky. We had our first loss to Bishop’s Stortford and it definitely brought us back down to earth a bit.”

The loss to Bishop’s Stortford on Saturday saw McKimm’s side register two defeats in a row, being knocked out of the FA Cup by Dulwich Hamlet the Saturday before.

However, McKimm has said that this was a bad run for the club, and it will not be repeated this season.

“I am confident it won’t happen again,” McKimm said.

“It was a bad couple of weeks, but no unbeaten run can last forever. I think the lads have too much character to let it happen again.”

“Although, if you had told me at the start of preseason that by this point we would be top of the table with only one defeat in the league, I would have taken it with both hands.”

When asked about the upcoming match this weekend to Potters Bar FC, McKimm echoed the philosophy that he has shared with the team to be confident but not cocky.

“Potters Bar will be no different to any of the other matches we have played; we’ll still go out there and give it 110%,” McKimm said.

“We just need to turn up, win the battles on the pitch and work hard. It’s a good recipe with any game.”