When father and son, Neil and Joe Kirkpatrick took over as managers of Westbury United earlier this year, they say they were faced with an unfit squad with low confidence and a declining league table position. Now, two months on, with new signings and a run of good results, there’s a buzz at Meadow Lane.
Neil said, “It’s only been a couple of months since we came in but we’re really pleased with the progress and the change in attitude. Six wins and a draw in seven games is great and we’re delighted with how the lads are playing – they’re more organised, fitter and training hard, and that’s translating onto the pitch.
“We’ve made two great signings; both Dan Jordan and Ricky Hulbert are quality players and bring a wealth of experience to the team. We’re delighted to have made the signings before the end of the season because it gives us more options every week, especially if we have injuries or suspensions. It also means the lads are fighting hard to get into the team and they know if they want to wear the shirt, they’ve got to work hard.
“Team morale has definitely been boosted and we’ve seen a change in attitude – apart from the new signings, the same players that were getting beat every week, are now winning. There’s definitely more of a positive attitude amongst the players, winning does that, but we can’t be complacent, especially with the few games we have coming up.
“We’re going in the right direction and we’re looking forward to next season. We’ll train hard over the summer and pre-season will be when we can put everything we’ve been doing, into practice.”
