Unbeaten Hucknall Town's '˜perfectionist' manager can have no complaints

Hucknall Town have a break from action this weekend, allowing boss Andy Graves to reflect on their unbeaten start to the season and the fact that he can have no complaints.
Hucknall Town manager, Andy Graves.Hucknall Town manager, Andy Graves.
Hucknall Town manager, Andy Graves.

Three wins and a draw have put Hucknall third in the Central Midlands Black Dragon Badges South Division with a game in hand .

And they’ve progresed through two rounds of the FA Vase, most recently beating Step 6 side Harrowby United 2-0 to set up a meeting with Black Country Rangers.

Whilst Graves admits he’s a perfectionist and still sees the draw with Matlock Town Reserves as a ‘blip’ he’s full of praise for his squad.

“So far, so good,” he said.

“Apart from a little blip against Matlock and we know we can rectify that.

“I’ve got a fantastic squad, they’ve all bought into the squad mentality, I can rotate, I can change things and it won’t really affect our performance.”

Graves insists he’s not one to give players the hair dryer treatment on a regular basis, but he did let the side know his feelings in no uncertain terms .

“Unfortunately I probably am a perfectionist, but I’m not a shouter or a ranter or raver,” he said.

“Although in that game against Matlock I probably did as much shouting as I’ve ever done.

“Ranting doesn’t have an affect after a while, you have to pick your moments.

“I don’t want to be doing that every game, and since then they’ve done really well.”

The Hucknall boss has come across a new problem, of the best possible kind – a selection headache.

“Our new left-back Oliver Brown has been outstanding,” said Graves.

“But he missed the Vase game and Cayne Maxwell came back in and did really well.

“Jordan Phillips has moved to centre-half and been outstanding, we’ve tried a few things from corners and he’s now probably our leading goalscorer.

“Everyone is playing really well.

“I’m happy with the way they’ve performed, their attitude and commitment.

“I can’t complain at the moment.”