Focus on what you can affect, urges Diamonds boss Maxwell

Maxwell was officially confirmed as the new permanent manager at Hayden Road last week but saw his team beaten 2-0 by Redditch United on Saturday - a result that leaves Diamonds still in the bottom two of the Southern League Premier Central.

They are now preparing for a trip to Mickleover Sports on Saturday, which is swiftly followed by a midweek trek to Leiston next Tuesday night.

But while Maxwell is focused on the on-field matters, things are not all rosy in the background.

It has emerged that co-chair Chris McCormack resigned from his role following Saturday’s game, which in turn led to fellow co-chair Matt Ward taking the same action, although he will remain as the treasurer for the time being.

But, with them stepping down, Maxwell giving up his role on the board to become the manager and Scott Stapley also resigning from the board, it has forced the club to organise an ‘Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society’ which will take place on Wednesday, November 2.

All members of the fan-owned club are being urged to attend that EGM, which it is hope will ‘formulate a way forward’.

But, despite all that going on in the background, Maxwell insists he and his players can only focus on the job at hand.

“I am always of the opinion that you should focus on what you can affect and ignore what you can’t affect,” the Diamonds boss said.

“We will have the boys in the best shape possible and go and affect the game on Saturday as much as we can.

“We will roll the dice of the football gods and see what we can get out of the game. Hopefully we can bring a bit of enjoyment to the supporters.

“We are looking forward to the training sessions this week to really help the guys.

“We have seen a turnaround in the last few games. We will get them on track, we will focus on the football and hopefully we will get some results along the way.

“Our focus is only on training the players, getting the maximum we can out of them and getting them playing as a unit.

“Hopefully the fans will get behind the team and come and enjoy themselves on a Saturday.”

Maxwell, meanwhile, insists he has no “trepidation” over two away games in quick succession and added: “There’s not really any trepidation about being on the road.

“The players are used to away games, it’s all part and parcel of football.

“We will prepare like normal and it’s 90 minutes for us to give it our all.

“It probably gets a bit more tricky for a game at Leiston on a Tuesday evening as we get the guys out of work and get them travelling a couple of hours down the A14.

“But, as far as Saturday is concerned, it’s a good away game and we will be ready for it.”