Queree targets more Jersey Bulls success after 200th game

Jersey Bulls captain James Queree says the club can reach the Isthmian League South East play-offs.

The 35-year-old became the first player to make 200 appearances for the club at the end of last month.

He has become a stalwart at the centre of the island side's defence as the club has gone from the 10th to the eighth tier of English football.

Bulls are currently sixth in their division, one place and six points outside the play-off places.

"There's a lot of great teams in this division and we are quietly confident about ourselves and our ability," Queree told BBC Radio Jersey.

"We've learned some lessons this season and if we're not up to scratch and we don't play to our standards we can drop.

"There's no easy teams, no easy games, so it's about this group learning those lessons, building on those lessons.

"We'll take it game by game, as the cliché goes, but we're excited for the run in, that's for sure."

Queree led the island side to promotion last season from the Combined Counties League after a difficult end to the campaign

Jersey Bulls were the best side in the division, but an administrative error saw the club docked three points for fielding a suspended player.

It meant dropping into the play-offs, which the islanders won in front of a home crowd in May.

"I don't think there's enough superlatives to talk about James," Bulls manager Elliot Powell told BBC Radio Jersey.

"I think certainly as young manager his experience, his leadership skills have been invaluable for me.

"I think I've learned an awful lot off James in terms of how he conducts himself and, yes, a great footballer in his own right and a great centre-half, and as brave as you're going to meet in terms of a defender.

"But more importantly a really good captain, a really good ambassador and I think whenever there's an opportunity for the lads to give something back to the community you'll always find James at the front of it.

"For me, I don't think the club could ever have asked for a better leader as their first leader. I think it would be incredibly difficult to match what he has given to this club both on and off the pitch."

Queree, who spent time on the books at AFC Bournemouth as a youngster and also played while at college in the United States, knows he will not be the last player to make 200 appearances for Bulls.

As someone who helped Jersey's representative team reach the Uefa Regions' Cup on two occasions, he appreciates the opportunities Jersey Bulls have given him as his playing career starts to draw to a close.

"There's been progression in a number of ways, not only on the pitch in terms of the quality of our play, the quality of the opposition, but also as the club has grown from strength to strength," he added.

"It's changed a lot over the past six seasons and I'm sure there's a lot more positive change to come as well.

"It's provided a platform not only for us, who are lucky enough to play here on a Saturday, but the women's team that's now been formed this season, the academy that's been growing, and there's a genuine pathway for boys and girls.

"That's what the club was about and it's great to see that come to fruition."