HAVING lost our first game of the season, the aim now is to get back on a winning run starting against Droylsden on Saturday.

We were always going to lose at some point but I think the fact we went the first six games with three away draws and three wins was a solid start.

You can’t help but make a comparison with last season and at the moment Worcester City are a point better off after the first seven seven matches.

I am pleased with where we are in the table because, although I am not privy to their resources, the four teams above us are probably among four of the top six budgets in the league.

I am not surprised both Brackley and Chester have won all seven matches but we can’t influence their results until we play them. They have had a super start and Guiseley are another very good team who I rate highly.

It’s going to be a tough division this year, as predicted. We needed to improve, and we think we have, but there’s no God-given right to finish as high as last season. We have ambitions to do that, and better, but that doesn’t mean anything, we have got to deliver and be ruthless in games.

Our failure to make the play-offs last year after a really good effort probably boiled down to the last couple of minutes at Halifax, when we lost 2-1, and the defeat at Nuneaton Town. We are only talking fine margins. We also had a terrible January and also took heavy defeats at Altrincham, Droylsden and Guiseley. If we can have a like-for-like season and improve on those results, hopefully that will bridge the gap.

So we have got to get over the Gainsborough defeat and move on to Saturday’s match at St George’s Lane and try and get back to winning ways.

The team have done well at home this season, it’s a nice big pitch and a decent surface and we are pleased with three wins out of three.

But those are behind us now and previous form will count for nothing this weekend. We have got to perform on the day and that’s what we try to emphasise to the players.

You have got to be right every time you play otherwise you won’t get the results.

However, we have a strong squad and great team spirit. The worst part of my job is leaving players out and that happened with Matt Birley last weekend.

I didn’t enjoy chatting with him to say he wasn’t in the 16 because I’ve worked with him for a long time but I won’t shy away from doing it and Matt took it very professionally. He understood the reasons and his attitude was faultless.

This weekend we are without Greg Mills through suspension so it might be a totally different story for Matt. He could get his rewards and then it’s up to him.