EXPECTATIONS

are running high after the 6-0 win against Salisbury City but it is just one victory and we must not get carried away.

In fact I will be trying to dampen any expectations and just keep the club focusing on each game as it comes, starting with the trip to Hednesford Town on Saturday.

I am pleased that everybody was happy with the win but, for a club that has been floundering for 15 years on not being able to meet expectations, now is not the time to start hyping things up after just one victory.

The result was a terrific end to a horrible week which at 10am on Friday saw us with just 10 fit players to pick from.

Fortunately Mark Shail stepped in to help us out and I'm very grateful to him. He wouldn't have done it for any other club. He only helped us because of his affection for Worcester City.

There has been speculation regarding Mark and City, but as far as both he and I are concerned, Saturday was purely a one-off game by him and we have not discussed anything further.

Andy Ellis also deserves credit because he wasn't fully fit but came off the bench and scored an excellent goal.

He sees things quicker than most, especially when he's playing well, and he did not panic when confronted by the goalkeeper and finished well.

It was nice to see Adam Webster make his debut, he deserved a goal and I hope the supporters liked what they saw.

Darren Bullock is improving week by week after initially finding the transition difficult from the Football League. We are working on his fitness and there's no doubt that he's a quality player and again he sees things very early.

The turnaround in form in recent matches has been basically brought about by new faces and that has helped improve our fortunes. With the injury situation looking a bit brighter it means I might have more of a selection headache, but as I've always said players indirectly pick the team by their displays on the pitch so the 11 from Saturday are in a pretty strong position.

Finally a quick word on Phil Stant, who has decided to move on to join up with Neville Southall at Dover Athletic. In his short time with us he has been fantastic. If every player had his attitude and characteristics it would make the manager's job a lot easier.

He was very popular at the club and players, staff and supporters had a lot of respect for him - he also still knew where the net was and shouldered a big burden when Mark Owen was injured.