Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 3)

On Friday 15th October, we broadcast a long interview with Nicholas Brayne, Chief Strategy Advisor at Yeovil Town FC, which went on for almost two hours and covered a huge range of topics which we at the Gloverscast felt fans wanted answers on. Since the interview was broadcast, there have been a wide range of opinions (both positive and negative) about some of the things which Nicholas said and  a request for a transcript of the interview to be made available.

You can still (and forever) listen to the interview in here – click HERE is you want to do that – and here the unedited, unfiltered words which Nicholas spoke. However, to try and make it easier to understand and digestible, we have broken this down in to sections which cover the wide range of topics which were discussed.

This first posting will cover on the field matters including the sacking of Mark Cooper as manager, the arrival and sudden departure of Danny Webb, the decision to appoint Richard Dryden as manager until the end of the season, and the challenges of player recruitment.


The appointment and departure of Danny Webb

Richard (Dryden, manager) is a coach which I know three other clubs were in for in the summer when we took him, he has a reputation for improving players and a lot of managers that have worked with Richard who will tell you that how he works is impressive. When we decided we were going to call time on Mark (Cooper), it was a short week and we felt Richard was the best option (as interim manager) with Chris Todd as number two. Richard showed ambition from the start, he wanted the job and he had a very clear plan about how he was going to go about it. We saw an improved performance in those matches he took charge of as interim manager and I thought he did well.

“In the background we were speaking to a number of people and I travelled with Stuart (Robins, executive chairman) and Sahil (Srinivasan, the son of owner, Prabhu) and we spoke to a number of managers, two in particular and there were a huge number of other calls. There were a number of managers that I would have loved to have got to Huish Park, but they had aspirations in other directions and a couple of others were in the mix and there was a shortlist.

Danny Webb’s time as Yeovil Town manager lasted just 11 days.

But, Danny was a charismatic character with a good track record and he hit the ground at Huish Park and people liked his open approach, he was very different to Mark Cooper, there was a lot to like. We backed him financially and in terms of his plans prior to him coming through the door. Then what happened, happened and he had that moment of realisation and he decided to stand down for family and personal reasons which was quite extraordinary to deal with. That whole period felt like a whirlwind and that is why we wanted to go back to a period of stability and calm by appointing Richard as manager until the end of the season.”

Q. Have you reflected on the process you undertook to appoint Danny Webb and do you think there is anything you would have done differently?

A. We have reflected and learnt from that process. But how do you do due diligence about someone’s state of mind. There is a remit about how far I can go because I have to be respectful of someone’s actions about their decisions. But, I know we did a very thorough assessment and spoke to a number of people and there were not a single red flag. Stuart went back over everything we had done to see how we got to this point and the assessment was that it was difficult to say ‘we should have seen this coming.’ I cannot honestly pinpoint a moment.

For someone who was inside the process it still feels bizarre. Let me be clear, I am not insinuating Danny Webb has mental health issues, but you do not always know what someone is thinking and feeling, the personal challenges they face. When we knew Danny came to a decision, we wanted to make sure he was okay on a human level. I thought we had made the right decision, we obviously did not because what happened, happened. I would love to be able to pinpoint the things that went wrong, but I genuinely can’t.”

Q. Danny Webb has subsequently spoken to an interview with the Derbyshire Times – read more HERE – and said that the decision was down to ‘football and non-football reasons’ – what are the football reasons he is talking about?

A. I have not got a clue. I am acutely aware it has been suggested he was not allowed to bring he was not allowed to bring players or staff in and I understand people have a desire to know more, you can’t turn that curiosity off, it’s what brings people to this club. But, he could have brought in the players he wanted, that is why Andrew (Oluwabori) joined, I worked with Danny to bring Andrew down working with Marcus (Stewart) and Exeter. There was money, quite a bit more, and in terms of changes to the backroom staff, those changes had started. I can put my hand on my heart and say we gave Danny everything he asked for. If anyone feels differently, come out and say it.

Richard Dryden’s appointment

One of the reasons we did not give Richard the job when we appointed Danny was because the feeling from everyone was that we wanted to go in a different direction, we were looking at a more youthful approach and Richard was not that. Let’s be honest, Richard was Mark Cooper’s man, so from a PR perspective that did not feel the right fit. It was not personal, some of it was based on that he was not the right man.

He had a 50% win record in the games he took charge of as interim manager, we wanted stability and we recognised that we had to bring players in. If we were looking for a new manager in a month’s time, it is difficult to bring players in. We wanted to support the players who were in a state of flux, we had the situation with Chris Todd who had said he wanted to go to Eastleigh. So there was a number of things we were dealing with and it felt like we should back Richard until the end of the season.

I walk around Huish Park and I meet hundreds of Mystic Megs who all have this wonderful ability to fortell what would have happened if it had not been Richard. Come forth Mystic Megs and tell me what would have happened, what would you have done in my position?

When we have the ability to brings someone until the end of the season, look at Jerry (Gill, assistant manager) and look at a different way of doing things. Richard does have a contract until the end of next season, so if you say we are going to do this until the end of next season and it does not work out, the pay out is going to be sizable. We had a pay out when we got rid of Mark Cooper. So to protect the club, we said we would hedge our bets and see if we could make it work.

Richard is a very good coach and he had a two-year deal with us as a coach and we have stepped him up as a manager. He will be here and is part of our long-term thinking, but there is a balancing act to do here in terms of supporting him and making sure he has a place to go back to if things do not work out. At the moment we are trying to find the right pathway forward and be analytical in how we do that but also to protect the club’s position rather than saying ‘we have a crisis on their hands, let’s go and get the next person.’

The reason the plan changed from wanting a more youthful approach was down to circumstances and knowing what managers were out there. We went through the process and exhausted down to Danny, Richard and a couple of others that we liked and those couple of others we did not think were better than Richard.

Director of Football

People often think money is always the solution, but if money is the solution please explain Barnet or Halifax to me. To talk about a Director of Football or a Head of Recruitment, someone who is looking at things in a more analytical way, that is something I find very interesting and conversations have been had in that direction. That is not something that happens overnight, that is a structure.

That is a project where you are buying players in to the football club for the club, not the manager which is something I favour and there are several examples of where that has brought great results. Gateshead is one example over that period of time where they were doing very well, they took a bigger picture view as to how they were recruiting. That is another reason why we did not want to jump in again and that is what we were looking at under Danny Webb. But it takes time to get that structure in place.

I understand everyone wants things yesterday and they have seen an ownership group based in Dubai and think they must have loads of money. We took the club over in the middle of the summer and did not have the benefit of planning in the Spring regarding player recruitment. We had a manager in place in Mark (Cooper) who has a much more traditional view in terms of how the club should be managed, but going forward we are at a point where we feel we can do things in a more dynamic, modern way. I am not going to say you are going to see great results and changes overnight.

Jerry and Richard have both been in this situation before and are well versed in bringing players in. The rest of us, our role is transitory in terms of the help we are offering. Every single person who is helping would benefit from someone who could help with recruitment, we have a couple of scouts we have taken on board to look at players. So if we like the look of someone, we have to watch them a few times, that kind of stuff is happening. But some of those may not come good until the end of the season, some of them may come good a bit sooner, but I think most will come good towards the end of the season. Why would you pay quite a chunky fee now when you can wait until the end of the season when you can get them free. Those conversations are being had all the time.

Player recruitment

We are trying to add pieces of quality to the squad, I felt the squad was too small. I still buy the idea of a manageable squad size, but the squad size going in to the season was too small. We needed coverage and that is what we were going to ask. The biggest hurdle in signing players is geography and managers. Geographically it is a challenge because you are often talking to young men with families and for them to move their kids down is challenging when they are looking at a one or maximum two-year contract.

(The decision to move first-team training to) Bristol has made that challenge easier, I can pick out one or two players who would not have come if we were not training in Bristol. When you have players who are free agents now, you have to look at are they fit, why are they free agents now, what is the truth about why they have not been picked up? So we are doing a lot of work to look for people and then getting them to come and spend time with the squad, train with us and then we will make a decision.

We have improved what we are doing with strength and conditioning and bringing in a new, very talented individual who has been helping us there, so there are things happening behind-the-scenes.

Left back George Nurse, who has been signed on a one-month loan from Shrewsbury Town, speaks to the media after the 3-0 defeat at Rochdale.

Q. Who has been helping support the management team in player recruitment?
A. Stuart has been helping, I have been helping, Sahil has been helping. (On Wednesday) night we were trying to sort Michee Efete out and talking to one other who we would like to progress, so we has been a real team effort by the ownership group to try and help. Richard (Dryden, manager) and Jerry (Gill, assistant manager) have been phenomenal in terms of how they have gone about this and we are working all hands to the pump. People have been magnificent in terms of what has been happening.

 

The dismissal of Mark Cooper

I knew there was a sense of apathy towards Mark when we got to the club. There were issues around the scenes which meant it made sense to look after Mark in the summer and go in to the new season, some issues we inherited which would have put us in a compromising position if we had not taken that action.

He had a marginally increased budget so he was going in to the season with a strong hand and he had the strategy with moving the training to Bristol which was inherited, so it felt at that time that was the right course of action.

It felt inevitable after the fragility we saw at the beginning of the season. If you cast your mind back to the game at Braintree, we peppered the goal but we lost 1-0. It just felt inevitable that we were going to play like that and come away with a 1-0 loss. I didn’t come away when we were 3-0 up at half-time at home to Gateshead thinking we were going to lose 4-3, but when the first and second goal went in you were just like ‘I know what is coming here.’

Mark Cooper was sacked by Yeovil Town on August 26th. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Yeovil Town manager Richard Dryden admitted his side were outclassed by table topping Rochdale as they fell to a 3-0 defeat in Greater Manchester this afternoon.

A brace from the division’s top scorer Emmanuel Dieseruvwe and a third from Ryan East saw the home side cruise in to the lead during the first half and the Glovers spent the second half defending wave after wave of attacks without ever threatening to create a chance.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the game, the manager said: “They were a lot better than us on the day. The goals could have been avoided, they created a lot more chances and we put in a lot of work to try and keep them out and when you put in a lot of work it is hard to get up the other end and score or create chances. They played well and we didn’t. It is horrible to work hard and win the ball back and then we were giving it away because we just did not have the legs to do it.

We did not pass it how we can pass it, we did not play the way we can play and we got beaten by a better side. The lads are blowing in there, they have not chucked it away, they have worked hard. It was frustrating in the last ten minutes with a couple of bookings that we don’t need.

Trailing 3-0 at half-time, Dryden replaced Exeter City loanee Andrew Oluwabori with Harvey Greenslade, but Yeovil never got a foothold in the game. 

The manager added: “You have to try and keep the same process because you have 90 minutes left. The problem was they pressed really well and we did not get out of our half with any sort of quality, the balls up to Jarv were last resort balls. We got him to come a bit deeper and the ball kept coming to them.

It is tough because you are massively up against it, you just have to get them rallied, keep them organised and you never know if you nick the next goal. But they were in the ascendancy today and I cannot make any excuses, we were not at the races and they definitely were.”

There was no place for striker Tahvon Campbell, who started last weekend’s FA Cup exit at Hemel Hempstead Town, and striker Junior Morias was an unused substitute despite the visitors chasing the game.

One small positive for the Glovers was the appearance of summer signing James Daly, who has not featured since the middle of August, who was involved in the pre-match warm-up at Spotland.

Dryden said the winger had taken part in training on Friday and could get a run out in the midweek Somerset Premier Cup tie at Odd Down on Tuesday night.

James Daly involved in the pre-match warm up at Spotland.

Yeovil Town were humbled at the hands of league leaders Rochdale as they capitulated to a 3-0 defeat which could have been by a far greater margin in Greater Manchester.

The Glovers looked rudderless as they fell behind to a goal from the division’s top scorer Emmanuel Dieseruvwe after just five minutes, the big striker added a second after half-an-hour and with two minutes of the half remaining Ryan East added a third.

In fairness, the scoreline at the break could have been far higher and the second half was no better with the visitors spending much of the game defending wave after wave of attacks.


First half

Imagine a terrible start and you could not have imagined one much worse than this. With just five minutes on the clock, Rochdale walked through the Yeovil midfield Ryan East played in wing-back Kyron Gordon and his low cross found top scorer Emmanuel DIESERUVWE who was there to poke home his tenth goal of the season. The big striker will not score many easier this season as he was able to find his way past the Yeovil defence with ease.

Five minutes, Luke McCormick robbed Harvey Gilmour in midfield and fed Aaron Jarvis who drilled a shot just wide of the post and then three minutes Josh Sims whipped a ball in from the right which beat Dale keeper Ollie Whatmuff, but could not beat the Gordon on the line or the offside flag.

In between the two Yeovil chances, defender Kyle Ferguson, who arrived at Huish Park in the summer following his release by Rochdale, endeared himself to his former supporters after a tangle with Dieseruvwe, who got a booking for his troubles. Ferguson was booed at every touch from that point for his theatrics.

The home side were happy to let Yeovil have the ball where it would not hurt them, but when they attacked they did so at will. First East put one over the bar before Allarakhia was denied by a save from Jed Ward and from the resulting corner Dieseruvwe flashed a chance wide.

A second goal was coming and it arrived with half-an-hour played. Devante Rooney was the creator as he was allowed to run unchallenged through the Yeovil midfield before picking out Emmanuel DIESERUVWE whose composed finish saw him double his tally.

Rodney was at the heart of everything playing a one two with Gordon and then seeing his effort tipped on to the crossbar by Ward and then four minutes before half-time Rodney was denied by the keeper again.

But, with 43 minutes gone it was 3-0. A ball in to the box found Dieseruvwe who bundled his way past several half-hearted Yeovil challenges and eventually it dropped to Ryan EAST who struck home a third.

Half time: Rochdale 3 Yeovil Town 0


Second half

Harvey Greenslade and replaced Andrew Oluwabori at half time, but the second half continued as the first had finished with Rochdale in complete control.

With 56 minutes gone, Ward’s punched landed at the feet of Rodney who fed Allarakhia whose effort was deflected before both Dieseruvwe and Allarakhia had efforts on goal. It is complete and utter one-way traffic.

With 65 minutes gone, Rochdale manager Jim McNulty decided to take pity on his opposite number Richard Dryden and made some substitutions with both Allarakhia and Barlow replaced. Then on 72 minutes, the hosts withdrew another three including Dieseruvwe and the impressive Rodney.

Dryden made changes with new signing Michee Efete coming on for his first minutes in a green-and-white shirt and Alex Whittle replacing Sims with 12 minutes remaining.  

Ward made an impressive low stop to keep out a shot of Connor McBride with a minute remaining and then in the third minute of four minutes added on at the end of the game, Yeovil finally created an opportunity. McCormick’s shot coming back off the crossbar.

Full time: Rochdale 3 Yeovil Town 0


Match Details

Venue: Spotland
Date: Saturday 18th October, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Emmanuel Dieseruvwe 5 (0-1), Emmanuel Dieseruvwe 30 (0-2), Ryan East 43 (0-3)

Pitch: Having previously been patchy, the Spotland surface looked pretty good.
Conditions: Cool and dry

Attendance: 2,716 (107 away supporters)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: Byron Pendleton 45+2, Luke McCormick 50, Aaron Jarvis 86, Morgan Williams 86
Rochdale: Emmanuel Dieseruvwe 12

Referee: Jamie O’Connor

Yeovil Town (3-4-1-2)

Substitutes: Harvey Greenslade (for Andrew Oluwabori, 46), Michee Efete (for Kyle Ferguson, 71), Alex Whittle (for Josh Sims, 78), Brett McGavin (not used), Junior Morias (not used), Ben Wodskou (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Rochdale: Ollie Whatmuff, Kyron Gordon, Ryan East (for Casey Pettit, 72), Liam Hogan, Tarryn Allarakhia (for Dan Moss, 64), Harvey Gilmour, Emmanuel Dieseruvwe (for Levi Amantchi, 72), Devante Rodney (for Connor McBride, 72), Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Aidan Barlow (for Tyler Smith, 65), Sam Beckwith.

Substitutes (not used): Jake Burger,  Bryce Hosannah.

Loan signing George Nurse is given a start as Yeovil Town take on table-topping Rochdale in Greater Manchester today (3pm kick-off).

Fellow new signing Michee Efete, who joined following his release from Scottish side Ross County during the week, is named on the substitutes’ bench.

Striker Aaron Jarvis is handed a start having missed the FA Cup exit at Hemel Hempstead Town last weekend.

After a disappointing result in the FA Cup, it’s back to league action for Yeovil as they travel to league leaders Rochdale on Saturday.


FORM…

YEOVIL TOWN

Consistency remains a major issue for the Glovers this season, both on and off the pitch. Since Richard Dryden was reappointed as manager, the team has shown a real Jekyll and Hyde form. The first three games under Dryden’s leadership featured strong performances and promising results that fans could support, however, in the two matches since the team has looked lacklustre, and the results have reflected that.

The 3-0 home defeat to Boreham Wood was understandable given their opponents strong start to life back in the National League Premier Division status as one of the league’s top sides. But the recent defeat to lower-league Hemel Hempstead was far more concerning. The Glovers looked devoid of confidence. While the Tudors played well, Yeovil were equally poor, leaving travelling fans frustrated after the 2–1 loss and another early exit from the FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage.

The only positive was Harvey Greenslade getting back on the scoresheet with a 71st-minute equaliser. Hemel had opened the scoring through Kyle Ajayi and sealed the win three minutes from time when Finley Wilkinson found the net.

Like this Tahvon Campbell shot, Yeovil were off target at Hemel Hempstead last weekend.

Rochdale A.F.C

Dale were also knocked out of the FA Cup last weekend, but their defeat came against much tougher opposition in York City (with no disrespect to Hemel Hempstead). Like Yeovil’s match, York took the lead before Dale equalised in the 72nd minute through top scorer Emmanuel Dieseruvwe. However, York struck again in the final minute to end Rochdale’s hopes of progressing.

Outside the Cup, things have gone well for the Greater Manchester side. They’ve lost just one of their last five league matches—a defeat to FC Halifax Town, and only their second of the season, the other coming at Brackley Town at the end of August.

Rochdale currently sit top of the league and remain the only side without a draw this season. That means if the Glovers can come away with even a point, it would be seen as a good result.


KEY PLAYERS…

YEOVIL TOWN – LUKE McCORMICK

We’ll be honest it was tough pick this week, with no players really showing any form as of late. But looking back to when we three on the bounce McCormick was one of the real stars of the show.

The midfielder controlled the games, sat back when needed to but also helped out in the attacking third as well. It was the Aldershot game that really caught my attention though, as he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, along with others and brought some joy at a time of need for fans.

Luke McCormick in action for Yeovil Town.
Luke McCormick. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Since then he has seemed quiet, and we need his tenacity back if were going to get results. Maybe it’s all the football he is playing catching up with, as he hasn’t missed a minute of football since the Braintree game. Which is indicative of the whole squad, some more players to help rotation in the middle of park could be beneficial to making McCormick tick again.

ROCHDALE – ETHAN EBANKS-LANDELL

This was also a hard choice but for different reasons, do we go for experience and leadership or goalscoring prowess, an we’ve gone for the former.  Ebanks-Landell has been a stalwart football league defender for the majority of his career, amassing 286 appearances in the EFL.

Now in the latter years of his career, the centre-back has found a home in the North West. Having joined Rochdale from Shrewbury in the summer of 2022, he has been a leader for Dale. As well as controlling the defensive line, he has become captain which has no doubt contributed to Dale’s success this season.

In fact the two games where he hasn’t played a big part in Rochdale lost both. First against Brackley, where he didn’t feature at all, his side lost 2-1. The second loss was to Halifax, where the 32-year-old played a total of 20 minutes. Maybe the Glovers will have to get him off the pitch if they stand a chance of winning.


THE GAFFER…

Jim McNulty will be in the home dug-out at Spotland on Saturday. A true Rochdale stalwart, McNulty has spent most of his recent footballing life at Spotland. After a solid playing career in the lower leagues with clubs like Brighton, Tranmere, and Barnsley, the Scouser joined Dale in 2015.

He spent eight years as a player at the club before retiring and moving into coaching. As part of the backroom staff, McNulty was involved during a difficult period that saw Rochdale relegated from the Football League in 2023—for the first time in 102 years.

After two short stints as caretaker, Rochdale’s ownership took a chance on their former defender and appointed him as permanent manager. Since then, the 40-year-old has built a strong side aiming for a return to the EFL this season. His record against Yeovil so far? Two wins from two.

Rochdale boss Jim McNulty.

LAST TIME WE MET…

Rochdale took all three points the last time the sides met in January, handing Yeovil a heavy 4–0 defeat. Goals from Devante Rodney, Kairo Mitchell, Leon Ayinde, and Jake Burger punished the Glovers in a game most fans will want to forget.

Their last meeting in Somerset also ended in a Dale win, though by a much narrower margin. It was a fairly even contest until Conor McBride struck in the 90th minute to snatch a 1–0 victory and take the points back to Greater Manchester.


DON’T I KNOW YOU…

Dan Moss will be a familiar name to Glovers fans. The right-back spent the first half of the 2021/22 season at Huish Park, making 23 appearances during his five-month loan spell. Now 24, he will face his old side.

Dan Moss. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Glovers’ defender Kyle Ferguson is a name the home fans will recognise. The defender made 25 appearances for Rochdale before making the switch to Yeovil.


THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…

Jamie O’Connor is the referee taking charge of today’s game in Greater Manchester. Read Ben’s preview of the man in black – here.

Harvey Greenslade celebrates a goal.

Sorry to bring this one up again, but in the interest of fairness and consistency, we have to.

Harvey Greenslade has been given the nod as your Man of the Match following his goal scoring contribution off the bench in the FA Cup defeat to Hemel Hemsptead.

Byron Pendleton makes his first appearance on the table and as has become customary, Jed Ward is on there too.

For those of you heading to Scunthorpe United on Saturday 8th November, tickets are now on Sale.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

Yeovil fans will be situated in the AMS Stand behind one of the goals and will enter the ground via turnstiles 6 and 7.

As with other clubs, it’s a simple log in and register process to buy tickets in advance. 

Tickets are prices as follows, please note that despite Under 12s being FREE (hat-tip to Scunny), a ticket must still be ‘purchased’. 

Tickets for other areas of the stadium do go up £2 on match days, but we can find no reference of that for the away end, but please don’t be shocked if you’re asked for £22 rather than £20 on the day. 

CAR PARKING
Post code: DN15 8TD.
Over 600 spaces are available for both home and away fans within the stadium complex priced at £5 per car. You can make a £1 saving by booking in advance via sufctickets.com. The local retail parks operate restrictions on a match day. If you would like to book your coach in for entry please call 01724 747670.

Disabled parking: Free to blue badge holders on a first come, first served basis on a matchday. These spaces in the East Car Park can also be reserved in advance by calling the ticket office during opening hours on 01724 747670 or email sufctickets@scunthorpe-united.co.uk with your request and copy of blue badge.

FLAGS AND INSTRUMENTS
You need to be granted permission to bring large flags and instruments into Glanford Park for a match. To submit your request, please email martin.hopper@scunthorpe-united.co.uk no later than 48 hours before the game.

Yeovil Town manager Richard Dryden has admitted his side will need to put the effort in if they are going to get anything from this weekend’s trip to leaders Rochdale.

The Greater Manchester side are a point clear at the top of the National League Premier Division, having played two games less than second-placed Forest Green Rovers, going in to the weekend.

The Glovers are looking to bounce back after their FA Cup exit at the hands of lower league Hemel Hempstead Town in last weekend’s fourth qualifying round tie.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins on Thursday, Dryden said: “Jim (McNulty, the Rochdale manager) has got the blueprint bang on, this has not been a one season wonder, he has built this squad up over the last three or four years and they have progressed.

They are a top side and they are going to cause us problems, we have to defend well and run really hard to get a foothold in the game. If we don’t run hard and work hard, it is going to be a tough day for us.”

The boss was speaking ahead of the announcements of new signings full-backs George Nurse, on a one-month loan deal from Shrewsbury Town, and experienced right-back Michee Efete, who has been without a club since his release from Scottish side Ross County in the summer.

Dryden said that midfielder Brett McGavin “might struggle a little bit” to be ready to start at the weekend, but he expected the majority of the rest of his squad to be available for the match.

Yeovil are looking for a response after a 3-0 home defeat in their last league outing against Boreham Wood, but the manager said he believed they could recapture the form which saw them win three consecutive matches after the shock exit of manager Danny Webb.

He added: “The first three games (after I took over) were brilliant and those came in six days with a squad which was small but was eager to please and work hard and they did that. We blew up a bit against Boreham Wood, the FA Cup has come and gone which was a big blow. The highs and lows of football, there is probably 20% of real rubbish, 75% of alright stuff and 5% of great stuff, and we need more of that 5% at the moment. We had a great month last month, this is a tough one and we have to get in to it and get as many points on the board as we can.