New boss Tristan Lewis reckons making Hayes & Yeading United tough to beat is the key to Conference South survival.
Chairman Tony O’Driscoll placed Lewis in caretaker charge of the first-team following former Liverpool defender Phil Babb’s departure by mutual consent.
He delivered instant success by picking up the club’s first three points of 2015 at the first attempt as United won 1-0 at Sutton at the start of the month.
Hayes & Yeading doubled up with a crucial 2-0 win over relegation rivals and kept a third clean sheet on the bounce in last week’s goalless draw with Staines Town.
Lewis’s brand of football might not be the most stylish seen in the Conference South this season, but it halted a run of 10 games without a win under Babb.
A section of the club’s support were vocal in their disenchantment with the Swans performance but the new boss says points are more important than flair at this stage.
They suffered their first defeat under the new manager on Saturday, losing 4-2 to Hemel despite new faces George McLennon and Robbie Matthews scoring, but Lewis is adamant there has been progress.
“We’re harder to beat.” Lewis stated.
“We play less football and we’ve realised we need to get points on the board and there is a certain style of play we need to stick by to prevent what happened last year, because I don’t know if people remember but we got relegated last year and we should be in the Ryman Premier League.
“We have the lowest budget in the league. We are fighting and we have to play like that unfortunately. Supporters have been critical and there has to be a sense of realism. My job is to keep us in this league and at this rate we will do that.”
Lewis has been given the top job until the end of the season and has been charged with keeping the club up.
He is not letting the job title go to his head though and is more interested in putting points on the board than calling himself gaffer.
“Whatever is right for the club, I’ll do it,” he added. “I mean it is just about picking up points at the moment and that’s the mentality we’re portraying.
“I know it is frustrating for supporters because we don’t want to play like that every but the fact is we kept one clean sheet in 30 games. We then had three in three, but people don’t seem to respect that.”
As the Gazette went to press, a decision was due after talks with a potential investor on Monday night as United bid to raise the £300,000 needed to remain in business next season.
