YOUTH: A hard fought victory

"I'm absolutely delighted with the boys," he said. "It was a hard fought victory but I told the lads that habit is a big part of football, and a winning habit is a very good thing to have. 

"I did have the pre-game butterflies, which is something I've missed, but it was just important to get off to a good start. You could tell that there's a real togetherness within the team because there was a lot of desire to get off to a winning start. 

"Every single one of them put in a good shift and I think we just about deserved the victory. Wrexham put us under a bit a pressure in the second half but the lads showed a real desire to hold on to our one goal lead. 

"We couldn't get the ball out of our half for a spell, and I was tempted to make a change, but the lads on the pitch were really scrapping for everything. That's great to see. 

"The lads that were here last year know that Wrexham always have a good team, so they knew it was going to be a challenge. That maybe gave them a bit of extra determination to dig in and scrap the game out, but the technical side of the play was very good as well."

"The goal was a brilliant free kick from Danny [Hodgson]," he admitted. "I was screaming at Jack [Elliot] to take it because it looked to me that it was perfect for a left footer. Danny is a confident lad and he took it on and, to be fair to him, it was a cracking finish. 

"A clean sheet is very important. There are certain things I believe are expected in football and a clean sheet is one of them. I've told them that another is to come in and work hard - that isn't a request but an expectation. I can see already that the lads are starting to understand that and their willingness to listen has been first class."

"At this age the most important thing is developing the players but they also have to understand that they have team responsibilities," he explained. "Throughout boys football there's an element of playing off the cuff and not really thinking about what you're doing, but we can't allow them to do that anymore. A big part of my job is to give them that knowledge and understanding that they really have to think about everything. I think that's an important part of them learning how to be a professional footballer. 

"From what I heard from Eric [Kinder] a big thing last season was that the lads weren't working hard enough when they didn't have the ball. During the first half on Tuesday night, against Boroughbridge, I would agree with that. But I think they've quickly realised that in a proper game situation they need to be much better with that aspect of the game. 

"We did some shape work with them and walked through a couple of scenarios and I think, if we keep doing that, then they'll start to understand what to do without the ball."

"I'm thoroughly enjoying the job," he said. "I've only been involved for about a week now but it's been really good. Results aren't everything at this level but it is very important for the lads to be winning, which is what we want to see.

"We obviously want to develop them as players but it's always nice to get three points whatever level you're playing at. Dave [Wilkes], Chris [Blake] and Kate [Gascoigne] have all been a massive help in everything we've had to do and that has meant I've settled in very quickly." 

United - Brass, Thomson, Marshall, Scott, Chisholm, Wallace, Hodgson, Dempsey, Blackburn, White, Elliot. Subs - Hammell, Eccles, McEvoy, Dickson, Bradbury. 

Goal - Hodgson (36)