LONG serving Andy Smith revealed the reasons behind the amazing turnaround at Common Road in the past couple of months.

The popular full back admitted he was close to walking out on the club he has served for more than four seasons prior to Dave Busst's arrival.

"We just didn't know where the next point was coming from," Smith recalled. "It was very depressing. Team spirit was at the lowest that I have ever known it and Phil (Mullen) wasn't really showing any ways of turning things around.

"But Dave's come in and done the things he did so well at Solihull and it's become far more professionally run as you can see," said Smith, resplendent in shirt and tie, a must for all players on match days.

"Team spirit is like it was when we had that good season three of four years ago. The results are obviously helping but all the players are working for one another and football's become enjoyable again.

Smith, who lives in Redditch and took great pleasure from last Saturday's win, added: "The manager's brought in some new ideas and made training far more enjoyable. The players he has brought in have gelled immediately and we're all working for each other."

It's not just on the field that life has improved for the United players. A social fund has been set up and the first night out is scheduled for Saturday, January 31.

Manager Busst revealed a little about the scale of fines. "There's fines for everything from getting sent off and booked to forgetting to bring your tie-ups.

"It's going to cost Knighty £20 for today's red card but I haven't reminded him about that yet," the manager smiled after the game.

Life's certainly a whole lot rosier for the Robins, who have won three and drawn two of their 2004 fixtures, a situation that has prompted some of the stayaways to return to Common Road.

"There were nearly 400 here today and even though Redditch brought around half that it was great to see a a few new and some old faces in the crowd," Smith concluded.

And, if Busst's boys continue to show the battling spirit that helped sentence Redditch to a first defeat in 16 games, then crowds should continue to increase.

Unfortunately, Evesham face three trips on the road and a blank Saturday before the next home game against Mangotsfield on February 21 - the first of three successive league games on home soil.