Rainworth assistant happy with progress of Wrens

Rainworth were sixth when the season was suspended.

The Wrens sit sixth in the postponed EMCFL league table following a much improved campaign after two lower mid-table finishes in the last two seasons.

And the Kirklington Road assistant manager believes it shows the club are finally heading in the right direction.

“At the start of the season the aim was to start to turn the club around,” he said.

“We wanted to be challenging in the top half of the table. It's gone better than expected and we’re in a good position seeing as we lost our first two games.

“There's a buzz back in the place and the committee is happy with how it’s going.

“The fans are also happy that they have a team they can cheer on again. Us and other Mansfield area teams are doing well which is great to see.”

And Smith is now keen to see the squad improved even further and believes a full summer of preparation can only help those chances.

“We missed out at the start of the season because we weren’t in the job until June time,” he said.

“You usually start talking to your targets about the following season in March/April time so we missed out in targets.

“It was always going to be difficult to get the team we wanted straight away.

“We gave chances to all the lads who were here last year. We will be in a stronger position, it's a case of getting the right people in the right places now.

“We have a good squad so we need players who will be better than those in the starting 11. That is going to be difficult to achieve.”