Walsham-le-Willows boss Trevor Collins will not allow standards slip in bid to register club record high finish

Walsham-le-Willows manager Trevor Collins says he will not let their positive start to the campaign peter out as he chases a club record finish.

The Willows have been a bit of a surprise package in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division so far this season and are currently fifth having passed the half-way mark.

But a win-lose sequence over their last five games – having slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Newmarket Town on Saturday – has threatened to undo their good work.

It is not something that boss Collins is prepared to accept continuing though as he looks to beat the club’s previous best Step 5 finish of sixth in 2012/13.

“Over the last three Saturdays we have lost which isn’t good and we can’t keep expecting them to bounce back,” he said.

“We have got to find a level of consistency as we really want to be in the top six in the league.”

Put to him that it must now be about trying to make sure they do not slip away after their strong start, he replied: “I won’t let that happen at all because if anyone drops their standards there will be changes.

“But I don’t think we will because when you look at it we are halfway through the season now.

“And if someone had said to me would you take being where you are with what we had at the start of the season I think we possibly would. But I like to drive the players and I like them to try and get better all the time and improve.”

It was only a header from Ben Robinson 15 minutes from time that ultimately saw them leave the Tristel Stadium with nothing to show for their efforts on Saturday.

Collin’s side would have felt hard done by to have found themselves a goal down at the interval, via Ryan Swallow’s 40th minute breakaway finish, after they had put Newmarket under some decent spells of pressure.

But they responded well in the treacherous conditions at the start of the second period with Kieran Twinn being alert to a defensive error to round the ‘keeper and keep his cool for the equaliser.

They failed to take further chances when on top though and the momentum shifted before they were eventually caught out from a precise delivery from player-boss Michael Shinn which Robinson guided home.

Having hit the crossbar via Ryan Clark after Newmarket’s opener, Collins was left feeling his side warranted something out of the game.

“I think we did,” he said, “I think a fair result would have probably been a point.

“Both sides tried to play and it was probably as bad as I’ve been involved in conditions-wise.

“We have had a couple of chances and just not taken them at the important times and they have.

“It is disappointing as I thought we had done enough, especially early in the second half when we’ve pulled it back and we had a good chance where Cam (Cameron Nichols) had a good chance and unfortunately he hasn’t connected as it has come across the six-yard box.

“We’ve just got to bounce back again.”

They will be looking to do that at third-from-bottom Brantham Athletic tomorrow (3pm), who have suffered five defeats in their last six games.

But Collins is not expecting an easy ride.

“They have beat Wroxham and Norwich United the other week so we won’t under-estimate them as Michael Brothers (manager) has got them working hard and we had a tough game against them (4-2 win Nov 9) the other week,” he said.