Skipper Davies, whose versatility has proven to be invaluable with the current injury crisis at the club, sat out the Sussex Senior Cup win at Steyning midweek with a shoulder injury but boss Blake says he is again in contention for selection.
It’s a welcome boost for the Nyewood Lane chief who has seen his squad decimated through injuries with influential players such as Craig Robson, Doug Tuck, Harvey Whyte, Ben Anderson, Tommy Block, Lucas Pattenden and youngster Hayden Gale all side lined.
Bognor eased past Steyning with a 6-1 victory and although Blake acknowledges that the triumph provides an uplift in confidence, he has warned his charges they face tougher tasks ahead.
Blake said: “It was good to get the win, obviously, and to do so with so many players missing was encouraging. But the truth of the matter is that we have significant injuries to key players and there is no easy fix.
“What we have to do is get on with it, it’s as simple as that. Players have had to come in and grow up fast and it’s not easy. But we are all pulling in the same direction and there is definitely a togetherness in the camp and that is essential when you are going through tough times.”
Blake hopes Block and Whyte will return soon — while Tuck needs more time — but the position isn’t as clear with Pattenden, Anderson and Gale, while Robson’s ACL injury could see him miss a large segment of the season.
Poor form sees the Rocks sit in 18th position in the isthmian premier division table and a lacklustre display also saw them dumped out of the FA Cup in a 4-0 drubbing at home to Margate.
And Blake added: “Take these players out of any team at our level and believe me they would also find it challenging. We won’t shirk our responsibilities though and will continue to work tirelessly to improve. If we can Tommy and Harvey back sooner rather than later that will help massively.
“Sittingbourne will be direct and have power but it’s a cup tie and we know on our day we can cause problems so let’ds go there with confidence and look to get the result we crave.”
