Plenty of new faces set to don Eastwood CFC shirt over Christmas period

With several players having left the club following the departure of Stephen Kirkham, Rockley and Shayler have been busy recruiting in order to try and maintain and improve upon the club’s current 12th place in the United Counties League Premier North.

And whilst no names can yet be revealed until signings are able to be confirmed, Rockley says he’s happy to have got some over the line.

He said: “We have to follow league procedures like everyone else in non-league and given the notice periods in place we can’t reveal names until deals are done, but we’ve been very busy and have brought in some players who will be available this weekend and hope to have more in place for the Heanor game on December 28.

"It’s not always easy at this stage of the season because clubs obviously don’t want to release their best players but we’ve been on the lookout for lads who want to be here for the right reasons and help us build on the good foundations put down this season already.

"It’s also been important to maintain a balance between youth and experience.

"We have some very good young players here that have come through the youth setup and that ethos will remain very much at the forefront of our minds.

"But you need some experienced heads in there as well to help the younger players in various situations so that’s been part of our thinking in assessing who to bring in.

"We’re in a really good position and with plenty to build on in terms of league standings so it’s an attractive proposition for many players.”

Rockley and Shayler’s first two games in charge both ended in defeat, 5-1 at home to Sleaford and then 5-0 at Melton Town having had Lavell White sent off, but Rockley feels those results weren’t truly reflective of the displays Eastwood put in and that there is plenty of cause for optimism moving forward.

He said: “It was a difficult start given the nature of the changes that had taken place and we gave good accounts of ourselves for much of both games but luck and circumstances weren’t really on our side.

"We’re confident in the route we want to go down and will have game plans for each team we come across.”

This weekend sees Eastwood return to action after ten days without a game, as eighth-placed Leicester Nirvana play host at Hamilton Park.

And having watched their opponents win 7-4 away at Newark last weekend, Rockley has plenty of food for thought.

He said: “One advantage of not playing was that I was able to go and have a look at Leicester Nirvana and it was a crazy game.

"Clearly they showed they were clinical in front of goal in scoring seven, but the fact they conceded four can give us room for optimism as well.

"So we’ll ensure our game plan is executed and are in confident mood.”