TT PREVIEW

Chris Hurst discusses the Beavers

THE FIRST FOUR GAMES

Well the first three games were a disaster! We lost 5-0 (Salisbury), 3-0 (Weston-super-Mare) and 2-0 (Horsham). Three games without scoring a single goal and some very unhappy faces on the terraces. The general concensus was that we lacked pace, made schoolboy defensive errors and our 3-5-2 system was not working. We then hosted Slough Town last weekend (our first home fixture of the campaign since we switched fixtures due to our pitch not being ready). It wasn’t a great performance and we contrived to throw away a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes remaining to find ourselves 2-3 down. Thankfully we rallied around and there was a remarkable comeback which saw us win 5-3. Still plenty of question marks but five different goal-scorers was encouraging and the management team are all confident we’ll be ok (“ok” by Hampton’s standards is about 15th in the table, we’re one of the smaller clubs in the division and are still part time).

STAND-OUT PLAYERS

I would say that on the occssions we have looked creative and a bit more threatening, it has been from the wings. I would point to both Sak Hassan, our #7, who will run at players and try to make things happen; and Ashley Akpan (who actually only debuted last weekend) and had a decent performance. Our top scorer from last season (with 10 goals) was centre-forward Reece Grego-Cox, he hasn’t opened his account yet this campaign and has lacked significant game time, but his experience and skill will always make him a threat on the ball and he will likely be part of the travelling squad.

THE MANAGER

Alan Dowson returned to Hampton in December 2025 with the club at the foot of the table following a string of poor results (culminating in an embarrassing 6-0 reverse against fellow relegation candidates Eastbourne Borough in late November). He managed to steady the ship, bringing some fresh faces in and seeing us to a creditable 18th place finish (exactly the same position we had finished in 2024/25). This season ‘Dowse’ has made several changes to the squad – looking at our starting line-up last weekend just two of the lads, centre-back Luis Fernandez and central midfielder Mike Atkinson, were here last season – but I suspect he’ll be frustrated with the progress of some of his summer recruits. We didn’t have an ideal pre-season, due to significant ground work at Beveree we only played away from home and lacked any real tests against Step One or Two opponents, so it may be that we gradually improve as the squad gels together. Its very early days yet so no real comment on the manager at this stage. Often the sequel isn’t as good as the original, but Dowse has a great history at the club, having led us to the Isthmian League Premier Division title back in 2015/16, so he’ll get the time he needs.

LINE-UP/TACTICS

As I mentioned any creativity so far has come from the wings. We have looked far less certain of ourselves defensively and in the middle of the park. I think our management team will be hoping for a more polished performance without the mistakes and errors of judgement which have been costing us. It may be that the performance is what really counts for us this Saturday. I reckon we might try for a smash n’ grab win, it might be our best option.

TITLE CHALLENGERS

Well the early pace setters and obvious candidates are Dagenham & Redbridge. They’ve already put some space between them and the nearest challengers just four games in. I would expect Torquay to be up there as well. Maidstone have picked a new manager with lots of Football League experience and so far it seems to be going well.

BIG CROWD?

No, you will probably witness one of the smallest away followings this Saturday! Looking through my club archive (since Torquay helpfully announce the away following separately from the main attendance) I can tell you that our historic following at Plainmoor has been: 52 (2018/19), 68 (2022/23), 66 (2023/24), 29 (2024/25) and 19 (2025/26). So as you can see, our travelling support has actually been dropping!! I think the novelty of visiting a big club in a nice part of the country has worn off for our more ‘fair weather’ fans and we are left with the 20-30 hardcore who would go to Australia to watch the team, but it would be nice to get more than 30 people this time. You also have to factor in that August has been an expensive month for Hampton fans, with away trips to Salisbury, Weston-super-Mare and Horsham already under our belts. Although small in number, we do always sing at away games and hopefully you’ll hear us!