Will of the People

ROB Dray has been in charge of Tiverton Town for just two weeks but that has been plenty of time for him to realise there is a feelgood factor at Ladysmead that can serve Tivvy well.

A well-attended meet the manager session before the midweek Devon Bowl victory over Ilfracombe - Tivvy's fourth game unbeaten on the spin - watched by more than 300 Yellows, along with a positive and willing dressing-room attitude and a Committee that toils all hours, speak of a club that is desperate to succeed and will not rest until that happens.

"The Q&A was good," said Rob. "It surprised me, the amount of people there, if I'm being honest, but that was good, and it was good to see 300 people there on Tuesday night. It shows that the fan base is still there, and it just needs a little bit of stimulation with a few good results."

Hanwell Town are the visitors to the Ian Moorcroft Stadium this Saturday for Rob's home league bow, looking to dent the bubble of optimism that arrived with Rob a fortnight ago and grew a little bigger following a come-from-behind draw at Hungerford in his first game in the dugout.

Rob said: "We are measured by the league table and we are fifth from bottom. There's been a good couple of weeks within the club, for various reasons and results, and a little bit of hope and a little bit of goodwill.

"We need to repay that to the people who come down on Saturday. It's important that we turn up and do the fundamentals really, really well. We need to make sure that we are now going to be a lot harder to beat, which started last Saturday, which is good, but we need to show levels of consistency now."

Rob's good first impressions of the Tivvy faithful have been matched by those of a dressing-room eager to please.

He said: "The most crucial thing right now is hunger, desire, intent. I've seen it all - that they want to do the right things at 3pm on a Saturday. They've showed that and there's been some good feedback as well. They are starting to understand our levels and standards.

"That will get more as the weeks and the months progress and they'll understand what we're trying to do and what we're trying to build on the pitch, which is currently the most difficult thing, but the most important thing."

Ron is familiar with Ladysmead. of course, having enjoyed success up the Devon Expressway at Taunton. He sees his stint with the Yellows' local rivals as being a positive past, with the emphasis on 'past'.

"Winning games for Tiverton is all the matters," he said "Taunton is a long distant memory for me now.

"Can we replicate some of the things I did there? Yes, let's hope so, definitely, but, in some respects, this is a lot different as a club; in some respects, much better at some things, I think.

"We want to bring a form of success to the club. Our short-term goal is trying to improve our league position, and that's what we want to do. Saturday is a great opportunity.

"We'd love to see a few more on the gate. I'm looking forward to it; it'll be a good day."