Steve Johnson admits it will be one of the toughest days of his long career when his Ringmer side run out tomorrow.

A week after the death of popular midfielder Herve King, the Blues return to action at The Caburn against Eastbourne United.

It will be a hugely emotional day for players, management and supporters who were at the same venue last Saturday when Herve collapsed and died on the pitch during a game with Three Bridges.

The match is expected to go ahead although that decision was being ratified last night following a meeting between Ringmer's players and Herve's partner, who had asked to talk to them.

Johnson has already assured his players he will respect their decision if any of them decide not to play but he does not expect that to be the case.

He said: "I think the lads want to play the game and we will see by Saturday's result how they will cope.

"It will be a tough day. I need to pick my players up but I will need to pick myself up as well.

"Every time I look at the tributes on various websites it brings a lump to my throat.

"It will be just as hard for the opposition as it will be for us."

Ringmer have been inundated with messages of condolence from clubs across the country and have already made it clear they would like to play a game in Herve's memory.

Johnson said: "We will speak to his partner about it but it is something we would like to do.

"Brighton are the biggest club in Sussex, that is who we all aspire to be, and it would be nice to play them but they have their own commitments and I certainly wouldn't want to pull at their heart strings so we will have to see."

It will also be a tough day at the Jubilee Field as Three Bridges entertain Hailsham Town.

Bridges were the opposition on the day that Herve died and the tragedy has also affected their players.

Manager Paul Faili cancelled training on Tuesday and, like Johnson, was due to speak to his team last night.

He said: "It was the most horrid thing I have seen in my life. We send our condolences to Herve's family and to Ringmer.

"What happened affects the Ringmer boys more than our boys but our boys still witnessed something I hope they will never have to witness in their lives again.

"I don't know how my players will get over it. We will have problems but I will have a meeting with them. They were shaken by the whole thing.

"It brought everything into a clearer viewpoint. We can sit down and talk about it but results pale into insignificance."

Faili heaped praise on Ringmer's players, officials and paramedics for their efforts to revive Herve after he collapsed Like Ringmer, Three Bridges will hold a minute's silence before tomorrow's game and will wear black armbands.

Ringmer are still waiting for the results of a postmortem into Herve's death which was held on Wednesday. No date has yet been set for his funeral.