HAKAN Hayrettin joked he wasn’t “everyone’s cup of tea” – but he vowed to keep pushing his Dulwich Hamlet players after they kept up their play-off chase with a 2-1 win at Concord Rangers last weekend.
The Hamlet took a 1-0 lead into half-time after Ademola Shokunbi’s goal and doubled their advantage in the second half half when Mert Apat put through his own net.
Kehinde Ailero pulled a goal back twelve minutes from time but Dulwich saw out a deserved win.
Hayrettin’s side are tenth in the Isthmian League Premier Division as they aim for an immediate return to the National League South. They are four points off the play-off places after their win against Rob Small’s relegation-threatened Concord.
“Good club, Concord, proper people,” Hayrettin said. “Whenever you come down here they’re always hospitable. They’ve always got a good team. He’s building a good little team and they gave us a run for our money.
“It’s always going to be difficult at this stage of the season, people are playing for different things. We’re playing to push into the play-offs, they’re playing to stay away from the bottom pack. Credit to them, they gave us a good go.
“I thought we started really well in the first half, we had one that was disallowed for handball and then we had one that hit the crossbar. Really if you look at it we were in control for the first 45 minutes.
“Going in at 1-0, which was a great goal, it’s not a favourable score, especially at places like this. If Ryley [Scott] takes his chances we could have been two or three up maybe before half-time.
“We made it 2-0 but then they score, I think it’s gone under R’avan’s [Constable] body. There was an overload on [Craig Braham-Barrett’s] side and they put us under pressure.
“But to come here in these conditions – and fair play to Concord for getting the game on [after a pitch inspection] – I think we did ever so well to get three points. At this stage of the season now it’s about getting the points.
“It’s a good, good three points away from home and now we’ve just got to keep pushing, getting everybody focused, getting everybody right, keep doing what we’re doing and picking up points, because we’ve still got a hell of a lot of points to play for – and we will.”
Dulwich host Cheshunt at Champion Hill this Saturday at 3pm.
Hayrettin added: “Everybody’s fighting for places, we haven’t got the biggest squad now. We’re tight-knit and we’ll go again. The players that are coming [into the side] are doing a hell of a good job.
“We’ve got to keep pushing, that’s the aim. My job is to keep everybody on their toes. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea – but that’s my job.”