Next Diamonds boss will have a 'great team to take over'

The Diamonds’ under-23 boss has been in caretaker charge since the departure of Andy Burgess and he led them to a crucial 2-1 victory over Nuneaton Borough at Hayden Road last night, which lifted them off the bottom of the Southern League Premier Central.

Goals from Ryan Hughes and Jenson Cooper early in the second half proved decisive as Diamonds claimed their second win of a difficult campaign so far.

But it took a “heart pumping” defensive effort to preserve all three points after second-placed Nuneaton pulled a goal back through Matty Stenson before piling on the pressure in the final half-an-hour.

It’s understood that the club are set to appoint a new permanent manager ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Redditch United.

And Maxwell said: “Whoever the manager is will definitely have something to build on.

“I think they have got a new assessment of what the players are.

“We tried to take the pressure off the players and we asked them to go out and be what they can be and what they have been before.

“Suddenly, you have a fresh team who are winning and who believe in themselves. It’s going to be a great team to take over.”

Maxwell felt the victory over Nuneaton was “fully deserved” for the players.

He said: “Wow! What an evening!

“Hopefully it was an enjoyable experience. There were certainly some heart pumping moments towards the end but it was fully deserved. It was a great performance from the players.

“It was absolutely immense and what a fun evening!

“It took a bit of time to get into it. They certainly gave us a lot of problems and we had to reorganise it at half-time.

“We fired the boys up and you saw that with two early goals but the guys put an absolute shift in.

“They are having fun in there (the dressing-room). It’s relief but they deserved it. They have worked so hard on the training pitch. They have been down but they have collected themselves.

“And now, instead of just having a chance or a bit of hope, there’s now a bit of belief.

“They can’t wait for Saturday now and we might even have to calm them down a little bit.

“Hopefully the result brings the team together and we had the fans bringing us home as well. We needed that support.

“We all need to get together and push forward.”

Maxwell, meanwhile, admitted he has been in “dreamland” after taking the reins on a temporary basis over the last week.

A fan of the original Rushden & Diamonds in his younger days, he has relished the opportunity to lead the club in its current form, although he looks set to hand those reins over to a new permanent boss before this weekend’s home clash with Redditch United.

“I am a boyhood fan who was on the terraces at Nene Park,” the club’s head of football development added.

"I remember watching managers like Roger Ashby lead the club.

“To have the chance to manage my boyhood club, even just for a few games, it’s been brilliant. It’s been dreamland for me.”

Diamonds, meanwhile, have rescheduled their home league game with Bromsgrove Sporting this month.

The match was due to take place at Hayden Road next Tuesday night but it has now been rearranged for Saturday, October 29 after both sides exited the FA Trophy last weekend.