Longlevens AFC co-manager Peter Boyle believes his side have proved they are “not easy to beat” after turning their season around in impressive fashion.
Longlevens have hit a rich vein of form after a difficult start to the campaign, winning six of their last seven matches and rebuilding confidence within the squad.
Boyle says the turnaround has been particularly pleasing given the similarities to last season, when Longlevens also struggled early on before producing a strong run of results.
“The most pleasing thing is definitely how we’ve got through a really tricky period,” Boyle said.
“It’s a carbon copy of last season. After seven games last year, we had four points and after seven games this year, we had four or five, no more than that.
“We’ve then gone on a very similar run. We won four or five in a row in September last year and we’ve obviously done the same again this year.”
The Longlevens boss believes the key to their revival has been returning to the principles that made them successful last season, rather than making wholesale changes.
The club kept faith the same squad with a couple new additions but still difficult start, with Boyle and fellow manager Buster reminding the players of what had worked previously.
“We reminded ourselves of why we were successful last season,” Boyle explained.
“We felt like we were trying to potentially go away from the things that made us so good last year.
“Just reminding ourselves of those same messages and those same approaches has helped us get back on track.”
That renewed confidence was evident in Longlevens’ most recent victory against Roman Glass, a side competing towards the top of the league.
Boyle believes Longlevens have developed a reputation as a side capable of competing with the division’s best.
“Longlevens has always been seen as a team that is easy to beat,” he said.
“Whereas we’ve proven over the last 18 months that we’re not easy to beat at all.
“Whenever we come up against a team that are in the play-offs and above, we believe we can beat anyone.”
The club’s positive run now turns towards the FA Vase, with Longlevens hoping to progress further than they did last season.
Boyle admits the competition represents an exciting opportunity, both on and off the pitch.
“It means a lot,” he said. “We’re obviously already gone further this year than we did last year.
“We want to do better this year. We want to win as many football games as we can and obviously it’s a great competition to be in.
“Financially for the club, it’s massive, but also we want to go as far as we can.”
Boyle also believes the current Longlevens squad has the quality to achieve ambitious targets this season.
“We’ve built on last year’s squad, and we’ve got an even better understanding of what we want to achieve,” he said.
“They’re high targets, but we believe they’re achievable.”
For Boyle, however, the immediate focus is simply on maintaining the momentum and enjoying the opportunity ahead.
“It’ll be a great occasion for us,” he said.
“We’re hoping that we can come back with a win and keep our run of form going. Nothing in particular, just excited for the opportunity.”
