Vital win a 'big step in the right direction' as Diamonds gear up for Ilkeston

Diamonds ended a run of seven straight defeats in the Southern League Premier Central as a goal from Jenson Cooper and Miguel Ngwa’s late strike sealed victory in Nunn’s first home game in charge and in front of the biggest crowd of the season so far at Hayden Road.

The victory also lifted Diamonds off the foot of the table and moved them to within eight points of safety.

Nunn knows the club still have a “massive job on our hands” if they are to avoid the drop this season but he is now looking to follow up the fourth win of the campaign when Diamonds head to play-off chasing Ilkeston Town on Saturday.

“When I took over, I said the first step was to get off the bottom and then try to reel teams in,” Nunn said.

“But we have got to be realistic, it’s still a massive job on our hands.

“What we have to do is be hard to beat and we create an atmosphere. We have got to make this place (Hayden Road) a fortress, not just with the crowd but by how we play.

“We have to come here and get the crowd on side. You can’t just expect it because you play for Rushden. We’ve got to get them to follow us.

“You could see there was a bit more belief in the boys on Monday but, also, they’re playing for a shirt.

“We had a right to bring in as many players as we wanted to after losing seven games on the spin and losing 6-1. The boys know they have to play well and they have to deliver.

“We can’t just settle for second best. I want to take the club forward from now, not just from next season.

“We’re miles away from being the finished article. But Monday was a massive step in the right direction.

“It’s going to be hard but why can’t we go to Ilkeston and get a result?

“We will go there and be positive, we will ask questions but if we show the same level of commitment and do the basics right before we over complicate things then hopefully we will be able to give them a good game.”

Nunn, meanwhile, hailed the contribution of goalkeeper Dean Snedker who made a series of fine saves on Monday, including a stunning late stop from Enoch Andoh to preserve the three points.

“The thing I loved about that save was that the ball seemed to slow down and then Kartell (Dawkins) was brilliant on the rebound because they had two players around,” Nunn added.

“I tried to sign Sneds at Biggleswade Town and I knew I couldn’t get him so I actually set him up with St Albans City at the time.

“There are very few teams at this level who wouldn’t want Dean Snedker in their team and if we’re going to kick on you need to keep players like him.

“He’s top drawer. He needs to be making saves when we win. A goalkeeper who played for me years ago, Ian Brown, always used to say ‘it’s no good if we lose, I don’t want to be remembered for making saves if we lose’.

“We want Sneds to be making saves in wins and that’s what he did on Monday.”