Esh Winning manager Chris Blakelock says that everybody at the club is starting to breathe a little easier now that they’re climbing away from the bottom two.

Esh hope that they’ve conducted their own escape from relegation by winning four and drawing one of their last six matches, to put them nine points ahead of second bottom Tow Law. Back in August, Esh lost their first four matches of the season, conceding 25 goals and were looking odds on to finish bottom.

But since Blakelock arrived in September, he has steadily turned the team into a more competitive outfit.

“We were in big trouble when I took over, and there was a stage when I thought that we weren’t going to do much,” he said. “It was obvious that things weren’t going to turn around quickly, and results weren’t very good to begin with. Maybe the axe was being sharpened again!

“The team has settled down now, and we’re fielding a settled side every week. When I first came here, there were six or seven players unavailable every week, and we couldn’t establish any consistency.

“We’ve brought in some good, experienced players such as Karl Turner and Jacob Simpson who live either in or close to Esh Winning, and they’re starting to come together and score a few goals. We had a really satisfying result against Ryhope CW the other week. We had our strongest team out that day, and we matched Ryhope for effort. The players stuck together and got a clean sheet. I really do think that there isn’t much difference between us and half this division in terms of the quality of players.

“The spirit at the club is very good. I think that’s important, because we’re just a small club with a low financial budget. I always say to the lads that they have to enjoy themselves, and I believe they are. They always stay around quite a while after training and matches. They believe now that they can win matches, whereas the players didn’t when I arrived.”

Blakelock reckons that the appointment of former Tow Law manager Gary Anderson has been a key factor.

“I was doing everything on my own at first, but then Gary came in as my assistant, and he’s been superb since.

“He’s got plenty of Northern League experience, and he’s somebody whom I can bounce ideas off.

“Our fate this season is in our own hands now. We have a tough run in, but hopefully we’ll have enough points in hand over the bottom two.”