Heacham boss Hunt pleased with progress

It has been a season of transition for Heacham in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division.Under the guidance of new boss Paul Hunt, who arrived in the close season, the Magpies, who travel to Ely City on Saturday, have gradually found their feet after a summer of change.After a difficult start to the season, Heacham has climbed to 13th in the league standings following a notable win over local rivals Downham Town during the festive period.Manager Hunt spoke to West Norfolk sports editor Greg Plummer to give him his thoughts on the club’s progress in a half-term report.How have you found your first season at the club? As always, the season has had its ups and downs. Our mentality is that we do not get too high or too low as we know we are all working hard towards developing as individuals and as a team.It was always going to be a summer of change and that always takes hard work and resilience as it is never easy. It has been great to put this squad together and meet all the volunteers and spectators. There is a great board working behind the scenes with the chairman so working with them is enjoyable as they are a driven group who are passionate about moving the club forward.What was the best and worst performance of the season so far and why? We have had some really good performances and good spells in games but as we have progressed, we have started putting strong 90 minutes together which is pleasing. The game against Lakenheath was one of those which was an excellent 90-minute performance to get the win against a resilient team.A game where we did not perform well was against Mulbarton away, we had injuries during the game which didn’t help against a good side. There were reasons for this as the players were trying to take on board new concepts so was part of the learning curve which happens when you are trying to change things.How do you view your progress in the league so far? It is positive, that we had a difficult start to the season due to several reasons, such as, a lot of injuries, moulding a new squad, playing a lot of the better teams initially and teams calling off pre-season friendlies with late notice.From October we have started to hit our stride and put better performances together as players understand their jobs on the pitch, young players developing, injured players coming back and some new signings coming in.You have a very young squad and were forced into changes over the summer did that change your approach at all? My approach is always the same where are we now, what are we good and what do we need to improve on, then work really hard on what we need to get better at with a desire to improve. We have a young age profile and that is exciting as there is a lot of room to develop and they listen and work hard to take on board what we are trying to do.Who has had the biggest influence on the pitch so far and why? The biggest influence has been the togetherness of the group.We have a group of outstanding personalities with excellent quality that are humble and hardworking.The group have the magic mix of being competitive but is very supportive of each other. Who has the biggest influence in the dressing room? Our dressing room is a good place to be, the vibe is exactly how you would want it, there are no clicks and when they all arrive, they are all chatting and laughing together.It is resilient and can take the tough days and bounce back as they are all there for each other.Has there been a turning point as such? I would say one of the turning points was the home game against Lakenheath.They are a competitive side who work hard for the full game and battle for everything.We played really well for the 90 minutes, the lads had a great shape and structure for the full game and were dangerous the whole game, creating several excellent chances. After the game, the mentality was, this is how we are capable of playing.What are your hopes for the remainder of the season? For the remainder of the season, we want to build on the good performances in the last few games and push up the league. We don’t look too far ahead; it’s always about preparing well for the next game.Where is there room for improvement? Like most teams it’s consistency, making sure we play at the level we know we are capable of for a run of games for the full game.We are still a new squad so are still learning about each other and ingraining how we want to play. Who do you think will be competing for promotion places at the end of the season? The league is very tight which shows how strong it is.It is incredibly open, the top 10 have all still got a chance of the top spot so I see it being wide open until the end with very competitive play-offs.