Hard work – that is what Histon boss Chris Nunn has put his side’s recent run of winning form down to.
The Stutes racked up their sixth straight victory in the Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South at the weekend with a 3-2 triumph at the expense of high-flying Aylestone Park.
Prior to this sequence, Nunn’s side had gone six games without a win, during which time they collected just four points.
But rather than make any radical changes, Nunn and his squad stuck to their principles and they are now reaping the rewards.
He said: “I’ve been a manager for many, many years now and sometimes things fall into place for you – it happens at all levels of football.
“Sometimes things go for you, like a substitute coming on and scoring the winner or the referee not giving a penalty against you when they could have, which happened on Saturday.
“It can easily go the other way as well, which it was for us earlier in the year.
“But I’m a firm believer in that if you stay organised and stick to your beliefs, then over time you’ll get results.
“We maintained our standards and we haven’t changed much because we don’t want to complicate things.
“Sometimes you need to just keep it simple. There’s no big secret, we’ve worked hard and are being rewarded.”
One striking feature of Histon’s winning streak has been their attacking intentions.
They have scored 14 goals during that period and at the weekend with the scoreline locked at two apiece, their front foot mentality paid dividends when Ellis Leka curled in a decisive free kick.
Nunn added: “I’d rather us lose while trying to win instead of being a team that is damage limitation.
“Teams towards the top end of the division – like Aylestone – are always going to score goals. These sides have got huge forwards and they tend to play an effective direct style.
“I want our boys to go toe-to-toe with them, that’s the way I am. Aylestone bombarded our box late on but I left two up front because you’ve got to be brave.
“I never want to have any regrets and in that situation I’d always want us to be looking for a fourth goal, not protecting what we’ve got.”
Of the six sides that 11th-placed Histon have beaten of late, at the time four of them sat higher in the table.
But it will be a different story on Saturday (30 March) when bottom-of-the-table Desborough Town will be the visitors to Bridge Road.
“When I came in (in October 2023) we were second from bottom and we drew 2-2 at March, who were second, with 10 men,” said Nunn.
“That shows in this league anything can happen, especially if you’re not at it.
“They’re scrapping for their lives and it means we’re going to have to be ruthless and relentless.
“We’ll need to be on the front foot and stay as hungry as we have been because if we drop just two per cent below our recent levels then we could easily get beat.
“I want more from us. We’ve won six and I’d love that to become seven, eight and nine.”
Striker Matt Hayden will go into the clash with Desborough aiming to continue his recent hot streak in front of goal.
The experienced forward has found the net on seven occasions in his last five league appearances – and Nunn believes that there is even more to come.
“Matt is a good lad. He’s experienced and he has really brought in to what we are doing,” said Nunn.
“He’s got this ability and a physicality that allows him to do things that a lot of numbers nines can’t do.
“We’re still learning about him and he’s still learning about us, but he’s happy and he’s been exceptional so far.
“And I think there’s still more to come from him as well. Any player can always improve and it’s our job as a management team to keep pushing Matt to get even better.”
