PERHAPS one should be careful when drawing comparisons between Phil Simkin and Brian Clough, but the sight of the Hamworthy United manager pulling into Lymington port behind the wheel of the team bus brought to mind a popular tale about one of the game's legendary figures.

Clough, who famously guided Nottingham Forest to two European Cups, is believed to have driven the team bus during his first managerial post at cash-strapped Hartlepool.

Simkin does the same thing for his Hammers players so they can focus solely on the game during away trips, something that comes in handy when the journey in question is a particularly arduous one to Brading Town FC. On the Isle of Wight. On a bitterly cold Wednesday evening.

While Simkin doubles up as manager and team taxi driver, his role also seems to closely resemble a mixture of cattle herder and schoolteacher as the largely youthful gang of players excitedly pile off the minibus like something out of the A-Team.

Leading the way into the all-too-cramped portside café is Hammers' exuberant skipper Nathan Walker, clearly the joker in the pack - every team has one - though as I'd soon find out, Hamworthy have a few more than most.

My task for the evening, which I was slightly apprehensive about, was to travel with Simkin's side to witness the rigmarole teams and their officials have to go through just to get a squad across the water for a midweek match.

It's bad enough on a Saturday, but tonight Hammers are missing a number of key players because they cannot get out of work early enough.

Rounding up all the players to make it to the ferry on time is tough enough for Simkin and his loyal lieutenants - backroom staff members Tony Banks, Stuart Tanner and Mark Schulz - so trying to control them once on it is something they wisely do not even attempt.

The two fruit machines on the boat are the order of the day, with Micky Hubbard, apparently nicknamed the David Beckham of the Wessex League', enjoying most success.

Lively banter is constant throughout the half-hour crossing, for which we are joined by Hammers chairman Bruce Scammell, who has to dig deep into the club coffers for the £160 in ferry costs for the evening, as well as petrol, drinks and snacks to keep the bus - and players - going until kick-off.

Having made it to the ground just half an hour before the start of the Wessex Premier Division clash, the players have to rush through their warm-up, not that you would notice when Walker rises highest to head Hubbard's floating free-kick in on 26 minutes.

Simkin's players go on to control the remainder of the game to record a comfortable win.

Not that there's much time to relish the victory in Brading's clubhouse afterwards with a ferry to catch, which we did with about five minutes to spare.

Boarding the ferry to the sounds of "beers on Bruce", I was expecting an equally rowdy, testosterone-fuelled journey home.

But the long day had obviously caught up with the lads, who were now in more subdued mood, much to my relief, as I used the time to catch up with Simkin for his thoughts on the match.

The Hammers boss left his house at 2.30pm to round up his Weymouth and Dorchester-based players, before transporting them all to Lymington and then Brading via Hamworthy.

At the end of a long day the win is all that counts for Simkin and his players, making the lengthy trek worthwhile.

Though, perhaps what is making Simkin smile more than the thought of three points is being safe in the knowledge that he does not have to make the same journey again this season, with the Cowes Sports away match already thankfully out of the way.