After a pre-season full of excitement, with all the change off the field, it has been an excellent start to the season. I think most fans would have bitten your hand off if they were offered 6 points from a possible 9 at the start of the Summer.

As with any team, when there is a complete overhaul of both the playing and coaching staff, it will take time for the squad to gel.

However, the early signs have been positive and it’s testament to the great work done by the backroom staff to get a squad with a good blend of youth and experience together.

With the games coming thick and fast, it’s speeding up the process by which the players get to know how each other play and I’m sure it won’t be long before we start to see more fluid performances on the pitch.

One challenge we need to overcome is that there are a number of teams who have an artificial playing surface. We saw at Sutton United, on the first day, how difficult it can be to acclimatise to and it is something we will have to adapt to. Teams will look to overpower us on their own ground and the squad will need to be prepared to roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work.

Steve Davis has already said he’s looking for a powerful striker to fulfil the target man role that we dearly lacked at Sutton. The emphasis has been made on bringing in the right type of player which is important.

Davis has got the team playing some excellent football. He has clearly got the approach for the play to be kept on the ground, which has led to some attractive attacking football, certainly in the two home games recently.

This is the same approach that Martin Ling had during his successful spell as Manager and it is good to see that Ling and Davis have the same philosophy when it comes to playing football. Between them they have done well to find the players who are capable of playing the style of football they are keen to adopt.

We have a strong nucleus of players now, most of whom have played at a higher level, and whilst promotion is not on the radar for this season it certainly bodes well for the next few seasons.

Off the field, following the changes over the Summer, it has been refreshing to see the amount of communication between Nigel Travis, Kent Teague and the rest of the Board with the fans.

A real emphasis has been made on building the relationship between the Board and the fans and it is no surprise that the club has seen record levels of season ticket sales this year as a result.

Statements are being issued, via official club channels, on a regular basis too and as a fan it is nice to know everything that is going on at the club.

From a fan’s perspective, it is great having that level of accessibility again. With the “Meet the Manager” and “Meet the Board” events upcoming too, the level of interaction fans are able to enjoy with those in charge is almost unprecedented.

Finally, on Saturday it was fantastic to see the non-coaching backroom staff get the reception that their loyalty and dedication deserved following all the problems they experienced towards the end of last season.

They are the backbone of the club and it was great that the fans were able to show their appreciation for their efforts in the manner that they did.