Balance, purpose, confidence – Burgess Hill Town boss highlight factors in return to winning ways

After these results, they sit 12th in the Isthmian League South East Division with seven games remaining.

Manager Gary Mansell has reflected on the upturn in form from the past two games, saying: "It's good to get some points on the board and get back to winning ways after a difficult run.

"During that run we played some top sides, we had some bad luck with injuries and personnel, but it was nice to get back to winning ways and we feel like we found a bit of balance in the squad now. A bit more squad depth has created competition which has resulted in better performances as a group.”

Mansell highlighted what’s been the key improvement in the side.

He said: “I think it’s the return to fitness of some key players. We had a number of injuries which caused us to have to move players around and sort of adapt a bit.

“But now everyone's pretty much back. It's allowed us to play with balance and purpose. The boys have played with a lot more confidence in the last two games in terms of in possession with the ball going forward.

“We've looked much more of a threat, which has resulted in eight goals across the two games, which is brilliant, exactly what we want and I think the addition of Jake Goodman can't be overlooked in the last two games being a really good addition at centre-half and really give us a platform to go and be a bit more brave going forward.”

In preparation for Burgess Hill Town’s upcoming Easter fixtures – at Erith & Belvedere on Saturday and at home to Three Bridges on Monday – there's a sense of optimism from the boss.

He said: “We'll be going into the Erith game confident after the back of two wins and the eight goals. We'll be going there full of confidence, and we'll be looking to play on the front foot.

"Three Bridges is always an interesting game, a derby, obviously we have home advantage but we're not going to be naïve to the fact that they're in a real good run of form, they're still in and around the play-offs.

"They've made some good additions of late, scoring lots of goals so it's a game that excites us because we know both teams will try to play. We're looking forward to both games across the weekend.”

On the injury front, Mansell is selecting from the same group who have been available for the past couple of matches. He said: “Marcel Powell is one that is getting closer to a return. Unfortunately, the weekend comes too soon for him. But we hope to have him back the week after.”