Bessent’s found the winning formula!

By Hugo Varley,
When Adam Bessent took over as first team manager at Combined Counties League Division One side Bedfont & Feltham this summer he could have been forgiven for thinking that he was in for a tough challenge.
The Yellow’s endured a tough campaign last season, finishing up in 17^th position, conceding almost 100 times and ending the season with a goal difference of -45.
One would therefore have received rather high odds for predicting the start that Bedfont have made this season!
The Hounslow based club are currently sitting proudly at the top of the table, having scored an extraordinary 29 goals in their six league games, conceding just four times.
“It’s certainly been an exciting start!” admits Bessent.
“I think after their first ten games last season the club hadn’t got a point on the board, so things are certainly a bit different this year.
“We have been fortunate in that I have been able to bring over a lot of players from my former club Staines Lammas so we actually have a very settled side who know each other well. “
Nevertheless, Bedfont & Feltham’s remarkable goal scoring record is somewhat deceiving as The Yellows’ have not had things all their own way so far this season.
Bessent’s side have been held to a stalemate at home to Frimley Green and had to come back from behind to salvage a 3-3 draw against Dorking Wanderers Reserves.
“It hasn’t really been as easy as the league table may suggest” said the Bedfont boss.
“Winning our first game 11-0 was a brilliant start to the season but it certainly created the danger that an air of complacency may have crept into the players’ mentality.
“We played against Dorking the week after and fell behind early on but that helped us to learn an important listen and brought everyone back down to earth.”
While it may be too early to start making predictions for how Bessent’s side will fare this season, the former Staines Lammas boss believes that the unity within his squad could be the recipe for success.
“At this level clubs really struggle with keeping a squad together because players are constantly on the move.
“If you can keep a group of 16 or 17 players together then I think you will be knocking on the door purely because you will be able to achieve a level of consistency.
“I get on well with all of the players and most of them have been friends with each other for a long time so I am hopeful that if we can stick together as a group then we can give ourselves a real chance of achieving success this year.”