HAVING a good squad spirit at a club is the most important thing for me and we certainly have that at Worcester City.

During my career I have been in dressing rooms that have not been all harmonious and from time to time there have been disputes.

But we have got a good set of lads at St George’s Lane and we look at players’ characters when we sign them to make sure we get that.

The game is tough but it’s even tougher if you haven’t got everyone pulling in the right direction and that starts with getting on with each other.

We had a fine example of that last weekend when we stayed overnight in Newcastle on our way to the Blyth Spartans match.

Last season we stayed in Wetherby on the way up and left ourselves a two-hour journey on the Saturday morning and that didn’t work.

Travelling overnight can have an adverse effect because non-league players are not used to wasting time and not doing anything.

This time we decided to do the bulk of the travelling on the Friday and only have a short journey the next day.

We were able to go for a 20-minute walk on the morning of the game and that allowed the players to stretch, get some air in their lungs and focus their minds.

Right from the kick-off we were alive and alert and went on to win the match 2-1. I think the preparation played a key part in that.

There were many away trips with Worcester during my playing career. For my generation it was normal to have a few beers the night before a game and I was no different. It was the culture we were brought up with.

But you don’t have to worry about those things now because there is a different mentality with the players.

It’s more about what they eat and there are some who don’t drink at all.

Most of the lads have a laugh and a joke but there is also a little card school that has developed with Jacob Rowe, Emeka Nwadike and Ryan Clarke.

Jacob talks the talk but the boys think he’s an easy target. He’s watched the poker on television but that’s as far as it goes and it’s like taking candy from a kid!

But they don’t play for much. Former City manager George Rooney used to say it was 5p maximum. With inflation, I have let them go up to 10p so it’s not going to hit them in the pocket!

This is all key to morale because, as much as we will be critical in the changing room and try to implement changes, we have to stick together through thick and thin.

That is vital and, as a result, we feel we can be competitive in every game we play.