Mettam delighted his Corby Town reign gets off to impressive winning start
Interim boss Leon Mettam admitted he 'couldn't have asked for anything more' from his Corby Town team as they secured an excellent 1-0 win at Bourne Town on Boxing Day.
A string of departures from Steel Park following the recent well-publicised financial issues, with the latest being Rory McAuley departing for Step 3 side Harborough Town, meant it was a much-changed Corby side that took to the pitch in Lincolnshire.
The likes of Jack Noble, Alfie Wren, Harrison Jones and Jordon Crawford remained from Gary Setchell's squad, but there were plenty of fresh faces on the pitch as well as in the dugout, where Mettam was taking charge of his fitst game after being appointed earlier in the week and was joined by assistant Danny Brooks.
One of the new players on show was Boston United loanee Sam Warburton who went straight into the starting line-up following him joining the club on the morning of the match.
A tight match at Boston was settled by a neat finish from substitute Freddie Allen on 73 minutes, and Mettam told @corbytownfc: "It is an unbelievable start, and I couldn't have asked for any more from the lads, I thought they were unbelievable.
"Since I came in, we had no training session, we just went through a few things on the tactics board, which is not like being out on the grass.
"So to come away from home after what happened last week (losing 7-0 to Long Eaton) and to keep a clean sheet is huge, and we took our chance when we got one.
"I thought we played some really good stuff at times considering what we were up against, and with lads who have not played together a lot, and I am so proud of them."
Bourne will look back on the missing of a couple of gilt-edged chances, but Corby secured the win to go seventh in the Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division table, just one point off the play-off places.
"We did ride our luck at times, and you need a bit of luck when you are low on confidence, but you make your own luck in this game," said Mettam.
"We kept plugging away, we kept getting into good areas, we kept trying to play in the right areas as well, and we have brought Freddie on and he has come in at the back stick and toe-poked one in.
"I am absolutely delighted, and the celebrations just showed that all the lads are together, they are in it together, and they are pleasing signs.
"But what I will say is, there is an old saying in football that you don't get too high when it's good and you don't get too low when it's low, and as a club we are a bit low at the minute and we need a bit of confidence.
"But what better way to get that than to come away from home on Boxing Day and take the three points."
The Steelmen are back in action on New Year's Day when they host 14th-placed AFC Rushden & Diamonds in a county derby (ko 1pm).