Needham Market midfielder Kem Izzet has no doubts his team will thrive in their new surroundings, following the Marketmen’s Ryman North title win last season.

Ryman Premier new-boys Needham were brought down to earth with a bump last week, after last season’s glory campaign, losing 2-1 at home to Burgess Hill Town, before they gained a point from a 1-1 draw at Billericay in midweek.

Today Mark Morsley’s men go for their first maximum, away at Tonbridge Angels, and Izzet has seen nothing yet to suggest that the Bloomfields club can’t be successful again this season.

“I have not noticed many differences between the leagues,” said Izzet, who runs Needham’s academy centre at Brantham as well as the Kem Izzet Soccer Academy, in partnership with the FCC Football Academy.

“The teams are a bit more organised at Ryman Premier level, harder to break down.

“But if anything, they are probably a bit more direct and maybe that’s the way to get out of this league, I don’t know.

“That’s not for me, I prefer to get the ball down, but I’m not going to tell anyone the right and wrong way to play football.

“We just need to do what we are good at, getting the ball down on the floor, and we have proved that when we do that and keep possession for long periods, other teams tend to tire, that’s why we scored so many late goals last season.”

Last Saturday’s home defeat was the first suffered by Needham at Bloomfields, since a reverse to Ware nine months ago, and Izzet said the Marketmen paid for a slack start.

“In the first half of the first game we were poor, did not get the ball down like we should and were a bit too direct and came unstuck,” added the former Colchester man, who has been reunited with ex-U’s team-mate Karl Duguid, at Needham.

“We got the ball down better in the second half and missed a few opportunities which on another day, we would have finished.

“We then got a draw at Billericay and, in my opinion, we were the only team that tried to pass the ball.

“They were direct and physical, we missed a few chances and were unfortunate to get a draw.”

Kem Izzet Soccer Academy in partnership with FFC Football Academy – 01255 317322.