Lakenheath manager Trevor Collis talks up ‘great atmosphere’ within squad after Boxing Day victory at Mildenhall Town

Manager Trevor Collins has hailed the ‘great atmosphere’ within the Lakenheath squad following Boxing Day’s derby triumph at Mildenhall Town.

With the squad continuing to evolve since Collins took sole charge of the side in mid-August, results have been mixed during the first half of the campaign.

But having put in a ‘poor performance’ in a 2-0 defeat at Brantham Athletic at the weekend, Collins believes that the reaction in the 1-0 win over Mildenhall is further evidence that things are moving in the right direction.

“Saturday was a poor performance – we got bullied at Brantham. We had a chat after the game and we said that if we don’t sort things out we’d have been on the end of a hiding here today,” he said.

“We’ve got a good group. We’ve got some new faces, people that want to be here. It’s a strong group and there’s a great atmosphere in the dressing room.

“The group we’ve got, it’s starting to settle down. We’ve still got a lot of games to play (this season).

“If people want to write us off, that’s absolutely fine. We’ve got a happy bunch here that want to play for the club.

“We’re building on that and we’re looking to have a positive second half of the season.”

One of the reasons behind Collins’ optimism is the new-look strike partnership at his disposal. Jamie R Smith scored his eighth goal of the season at Mildenhall, while Jamie A Smith recently arrived from fellow Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division outfit Sheringham, for whom he scored six goals in 18 appearances.

And Collins has been pleased with what he has seen from the pair so far.

He added: “Now we’ve got the two Jamie Smiths up front, they looked really good, especially in the first half when they linked up well.

“The more the play together the better understanding they’ll have. They’re going to be a very good partnership.”

Seventh-placed Lakenheath will have home advantage against Fakenham Town on Saturday (3pm).