‘In at the deep end’ but Diamonds interim boss Matt is keen to restore confidence

To say it has been a disastrous season at Hayden Road so far would probably be an understatement.

And things took a new twist late last week as Richard Maxwell, who had been appointed as the successor to Andy Burgess following his departure earlier in the campaign, was sacked just a day after a new board had been appointed following a second emergency general meeting in the space of a month.

The new board immediately turned to long-serving academy coach Vernon as he became the third person to take charge of Diamonds this season with the team entrenched in the bottom two of the Southern League Premier Central.

His first game in charge ended in a 3-1 defeat at high-flying Rushall Olympic last weekend and things are unlikely to get any easier over the next week.

Alvechurch are the visitors to Hayden Road on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off) having lost 2-1 at Forest Green Rovers in the second round of the Emirates FA Cup last week.

Alvechurch sit immediately above Diamonds in the relegation zone but have played eight games less due to that cup run.

And then, next Tuesday night, former Diamonds boss Andy Peaks returns to Hayden Road with his table-topping Tamworth side.

With the current crop at Diamonds currently seven points adrift of safety having played more games than anyone else around them, Vernon certainly has his work cut out in the short term while the club actively seek a new permanent boss.

But the interim manager insists he will do all he can to try to build some much-needed confidence into a team that has won just three times in 20 league outings this season and who are currently on a three-game losing streak.

Asked how the first week in the role had gone, Vernon replied: “It’s been busy, that’s for sure!

“I have got a half decent knowledge of the league after interacting with Andy Peaks for many years but we have been thrown in right at the deep end. You can’t get much deeper than second bottom.

“And then with the fixtures we’ve had and got coming up with Rushall having been on a great run, Alvechurch coming off the back of a really good FA Cup run and then Tamworth next Tuesday, it’s made it very difficult.

“We have just been assessing the squad and trying to get them confident in themselves more than anything else. When you’re down at the bottom, it’s pretty tough.

“If we pick up points when we’re not favourites then great but the first thing I said to them was that I was sorry it had been such a disrupted season.

“But we won’t be trying to reinvent the wheel. We need to get back to basics and get back to believing and enjoying what we are good at.

“If that carries us through to results then great.”