Swifts ditching tag

Stourport boss Paul “Ocker” Davies reckons he is on course to finally rid the Swifts of their “easy to beat” tag.

The new manager has made the perfect start to life at Walshes Meadow with four unbeaten games since taking over including a pair of eye catching wins against Woodford and Malvern.

They notched a hard-fought point against Willenhall in midweek and Ocker believes his side are starting to learn the secret of making themselves a tough nut to crack.

“We have had such a turbulent time over the last two years that really any string of results together will be an improvement,” he said.

“But the most important thing for me was to get rid of that soft touch thing. I think teams would see us in the fixture list and think ‘It’s only Stourport – we can beat them’.

“So we’ve been getting the lads working hard in training – we’ve put a lot of work in and we believe we’re starting to see a few of the benefits now.”

Chief among his tasks has been to get his players to “toughen up” their attitude.

“I tend to do a lot of football work with the players,” he said. “The training is based on things that we’re going to be doing in games – I don’t think there is much sense in doing it any other way.”

The winning run has galvanised the club – and convinced Davies that he can be a successful Swifts boss.

“The wins have brought a little bit of confidence in the players and in me, to be honest,” he said.

“It has helped convince me I can do the job and I think it has convinced the players they are good enough to do it too.  It is amazing what a lift it has given us.”