Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose gets covid on the eve of kick-off

Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose is targeting a place in the play-offs this season – but his side will have to start the campaign without him in the dugout.

The club has announced Rose “will not be attending games for the foreseeable future” as he makes a recovery from Covid-19.

The record-breaking boss fell ill from Monday and has had to spend a short time in hospital but is now recovering at home.

In the meantime Junior Kadi, Junior James and the other members of the coaching staff will look after the first team.

A club statement said: “We send him all the love and support possible, and implore fans to do the same. We’ll update you on his return when we can.”

Rose bravely outlined his ambitions for the season to the South London Press from his sickbed on Tuesday, saying the team should be aiming to reach the National League South play-offs this season.

But they will have to do it without Sanchez Ming – who has picked up an Achilles injury which will rule him out for the whole of the campaign.

Ming has been a stalwart of the side for more than 12 years and will be a big miss for Rose and his assistant Junior Kadi.

But Tyrone Sterling came back match fit from Gold Cup duty with Grenada.

He started their first group game on Wednesday – though  it  did  not  go  to  plan  as  they  lost 4-0 to Honduras, 4-0 again to Qatar and 3-1 to Panama.

The manager is determined that Hamlet improve on the 12th spot they ended the last the last campaign, which was curtailed by the second lockdown in September with only a dozen or so games played.

Rose said: “We would like to make the play offs at a minimum this season.

“We’ve  enjoyed  a  very  competitive  pre-season, playing some very good teams to give the boys some good tests. I felt we’ve steadily improved in performance and fitness as it’s gone on.

“We are in good shape and will be aiming to get off to a good start.

“We will have a squad of 17 or 18 players maximum and we have done remarkably well to be able to fit the boys into our budget.”

Some of their rivals have spent big to give themselves an advantage in the division, but Rose is not one to dwell on the strength of their opponents – he just gets the players to focus on their own performances.

“I have not being paying much attention to what everyone is doing spending wise,” he said.

Hamlet open their season with a home game against Chippenham Town at Champion Hill at 3pm tomorrow.

“It is always a tough fixture,” said the manager. “They are a tight-knit group with plenty of good players to cause us problems.”

Tooting & Mitcham start their Isthmian League South Central Division campaign tomorrow on the road when they travel to take on Westfield.

They will hope to bounce back after they were knocked out of the FA Cup by hosts Erith & Belvedere in their Extra Preliminary Round replay.  The Terrors had fought out a 1-1 draw against the Southern Counties East League Premier Division side at their first attempt at Imperial Fields last Saturday.

Bromley kick off their National League campaign on August 21 with a home game against Grimsby.