Diamonds round off a troubled campaign with a win on the road

Diamonds’ relegation from the Southern League Premier Central had been confirmed sometime ago but Chris Nunn’s team ensured they finished the season with just one defeat in their last nine matches.

And, for good measure, this win ensured they didn’t finish bottom of the pile as goals from Jenson Cooper and Will Glennon saw them leapfrog Bedford Town.

It was an impressive effort with Diamonds having suffered a 3-1 home loss to Rushall Olympic just 48 hours earlier.

And, with plenty of walking wounded in his team, boss Nunn was happy by the final effort.

“I am delighted with that,” he said.

“When you have been on a good unbeaten run and then you lose you worry what the boys are going to be like in the last game of the season.

“It was backs to the wall in terms of the boys being extremely tired and not having a full bench hurt us but they were magnificent.

“It was tough with not having a full bench and it never looks great for the club when that happens. But there are sometimes things that you can’t factor for.

“There are ifs and buts about what might have happened but we focus on what did happen and it was a win that was totally deserved.

“The work-rate was incredible and I have come away absolutely delighted.”

Nunn, meanwhile, is hoping the decent run of form towards the end of the season will help Diamonds’ fans go into the summer in a better frame of mind.

“It’s been difficult because we had to let a lot of bodies go and we had to make some changes financially,” Nunn said as he reflected on his time at Hayden Road so far.

“We had a difficult time trying to get players through the door.

“We were trying to bring players in for their monetary value rather than their ability because we didn’t have anything.

“It was almost like having a pre-season because we were finding what we had and what we didn’t have and we tried to work with what we had.

“Overall, I think we finished the season off on a high.

“We’re not the worst team in the league and we were unbeaten in eight of the last nine games.

“I am proud of those lads. They are young lads who have given everything for this club.

“Their attitude has been fantastic. I feel we have bridged the gap with the supporters and maybe people can be in a better place mentally for the summer.”