When Welling United were beaten one week earlier, manager Jamie Coyle demanded a positive reaction and that was just what he got when they played St. Albans City.

Having not fielded an unchanged team all season, Coyle again made changes and felt that they were crucial to the improved performance. “I just needed to change things up a little bit.” he explained.

“There’s no hiding the fact that there were some poor performances last week and if we’re going to make a push to get to the play-offs we need players that are going to give 110%. We had that today.”

There can be no doubt that Welling were good value for their victory. Coyle said “I thought we thoroughly deserved to win it. I thought in the first half we were a little bit sloppy but the message at half time was to be a little bit more composed on the ball when we won it back and in the second half, I thought our quality was so much better,

“I thought that we deserved to keep a clean sheet. I don’t think Bailey’s had a save to make, other than the penalty, and the boys have been tremendous today.”

Victory at Park View Road completed the double for Welling over the title chasing Saints and Coyle said “I thought we were fantastic at their place. We had a good game plan an and looked to counter attack them and did really well but it was a different game today.

“On a tighter more compact pitch, we had to defend really well and be patient for our chances. We had two forwards who had quality in their game and when they had half a chance they took it.”

Former Welling winger Rhys Murrell-Williamson has had a tremendous season so far and was identified as the main danger so Ryan Hall was given the responsibility of helping Ben Jefford. Coyle was delighted with his contribution. “We were playing against one of the best wingers in the league.” he said.

“It was important that we had to deal with him and close him down. He (Hall) was unfortunate with the penalty but for the majority of the game, 94/95 minutes, we’ve kept him really quiet and that’s testament to those two.”

Jefford hadn’t played in recent matches but Coyle restored him to the starting eleven ahead of Archie Johnson. He explained “Archie’s done really well. He’s had a great run in the side. He’s young. He hasn’t had a full season at left back so he’s learning and for his own development, I’ve brought him out of the team. He’ll get another opportunity, I’m sure, between now and the end of the season.

“Ben, what a fantastic way to come back against one of the best wingers in the league. For someone who hasn’t played for three or four weeks, to come in and deal with Rhys the way he did, I’m really pleased.”

Up front there was a change too, with Tom Bradbrook’s other commitments causing his departure. Coyle explained “It’s a real shame. He’s decided to call it a day this year. He’s got a very high profile job in the City and it wasn’t easy leaving work early.

“He’s got a young family as well. I’ve got nothing but praise for Tom, his attitude and the commitment he’s shown to have a real go this year, he’s going to be missed. There are certain characters around the place, whether they are playing or not playing, are real positive people. They bring real good vibes and we’ll miss him, we really will.

“He’ll still come down and watch games but he wants to spend more time with his family.” Although no longer available for selection, Welling have retained his player registration and he would turn out should Welling have a player crisis. “If we need him, he’ll do anything to help us out.” Coyle said. “He’s a close friend of mine so, personally, I’d like to thank him for everything he’s done.”

His departure was accompanied by the signing of Millwall striker Jamie Philpot on an initial one month loan and Coyle was delighted with his impact. “Jamie’s come in today and what a fantastic debut he’s given us. Jamie looks like a real catch for us.”

The three points claimed took Welling beyond their season’s total in 2016-17 and although that was the minimum expectation in August, Coyle has always been aiming higher. He said “The target has always been the same for me personally. I don’t want to just survive in the league or be mediocre in the league.

“The players that we’ve got in this team, we should be pressing for the play-offs and I won’t settle for anything less. The board, the Chairman and everyone have worked so hard to get this team together with ourselves, the management team and it’s important that we have a real good fight and a real good push between now and the end of the season.

“You’d hope that between now and the end of this season, we can carry on this run. It’s always the team that picks up towards the end of the season that tends to do well in the play-offs.”

Now that Coyle and first team coach Jack Parkinson have agreed a contract for next season, they are not just looking at short term targets. Coyle said “We’ve got three or four players we’ve already spoken to about next year. We’ve got a great nucleus in this team. It was always going to be a long term plan as starting from scratch with no players was a daunting task at the start of the year.

“It’s taking time, I knew it would, and you don’t always get time in football, but the boys have stuck with it and the players that have come in have added real quality. If we can keep the nucleus together and add two or three others we’ll be a real force.”

Pictures supplied by Dave Budden.