CHIPPENHAM Town manager Nathan Rudge has declared himself satisfied with the first half of his maiden season as a manager.

The Bluebirds currently sit 14th in the Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division and player-boss Rudge, who succeeded Adie Mings in the Chippenham hotseat last summer, is confident that he and assistant Richard Fey, who is also experiencing life in charge of a Southern League side for the first time, have Town heading in the right direction.

“Looking back at the first half of the season at Christmas time, I’m pretty happy with how things have gone so far,” said Rudge, who has made 22 appearances for his side so far this campaign.

“We’ve given young players the chance to show what they can do and we’ve got the side playing the way we’d like them to.

“I do think that the league position could be better than it is but that will come with time – it’s a long-term thing and success doesn’t happen overnight.

“We’ve had a lot of draws recently but I was on the phone to Paul Holleran at Leamington the other day and he was saying that it will only take us converting one of the chances that we get in games and suddenly, those wins will turn into draws.”

The Bluebirds travel to 19th-placed Bashley tomorrow and Rudge has a fully-fit squad to choose from, with Adie Harris and Alex Kite returning from suspension and Mani Randhawa regaining full fitness.

The Chippenham chief added: “Bashley have been in our league for as long as I can remember – they’re never really at the top of the table but they don’t go down either.

“Their season has probably been a bit like ours really but we’re hoping to go there and get a good result if the game is on.

“Having a fully fit squad gives me a bit of a headache over picking the team too.”

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