It's onwards and upwards for Town
Hungerford will be looking to build on their recent win at Concord
HUNGERFORD Town manager Ian Herring praised his squad for building on previous performances in Saturday’s 2-0 away win at Concord Rangers.
Taofiq Olomowewe and Liam Ferdinand both netted in the victory, lifting Hungerford off the bottom of the National League South table.
The win came a week after their 1-0 defeat at Dorking Wanderers, and Herring feels performances have improved.
He said: “I am all-round delighted as it’s a clean sheet, we’ve scored two goals and we built on the performance from Dorking.
“Although the result from that game was disappointing, there were good signs in that performance and we carried that into Saturday’s game.
“I had to make some big calls and also some personnel changes and it came through and the lads proved to me what they can do.
“They’re growing as a group, they’re listening, they’re learning and they are getting better so it’s onwards and upwards now.”
While Herring was delighted to see his side collect three points away from home, he felt it was more pleasing to not concede.
He said: “I had a chat with Sivs [Adam Siviter]. He’s a young keeper, he has come in from Birmingham and with where we are in the table, he has had a tough start.
“I spoke to him and he’s responded well, so it was nice for him to get a clean sheet, especially with his save right at the end, because that was as good as a goal.”
Herring was also happy with how some of the new players have fitted into the team.
He said: “It was Taofiq and AK’s [Akinwale Odimayo] third game together in defence and they have done a remarkable job in making us more organised and harder to beat.
“Yan [Klukowski] played a different role and did a fantastic job, so if we can get him up to full fitness we know it can be a real bonus for us.”
Cameron McGilp, who was signed on loan from Swindon Town, made his debut and Herring was impressed.
He said: “We’re very fortunate to get him in from Swindon.
“They have helped us out and I just hope we can have him for as long as possible because he proved what a wonderful player he is.”
Potential run of form
Hungerford turn their attention to Hampton & Richmond at Bulpit Lane on Saturday, the club’s first home game in almost a month.
With Hampton close to Town in the National League South standings, Herring wants to continue building momentum.
He said: “We’re coming up to an important period of the season if you look at our fixtures because we’re playing teams in and around us.
“But we can’t get too carried away or look too far ahead because we have to concentrate and focus on session by session and game by game.
“I am doing a lot of work off the pitch to improve myself personally and how my conduct can impact the group.
“We had a meeting last week where we re-assessed our targets and expectations, but, like I said, it’s about one game at a time.”
