Garry Hill is determined to keep his feet on the ground despite the Fleet finding themselves just three points off the play-offs and becoming the fifth highest scorers in the league.
“All I can say is hopefully we don’t get spoiled too quick,” he told BBC Radio Kent’s Charles Webster. “There’s been a big turnaround in a short space of time at the club but to take 20 points out of 27 in this league is a very good, encouraging run. It sets us up nicely for going into 2019 in a proper way. We look at the games in the second half of the season and we’ve certainly got something to play for. Even though we are a small squad at the present time, if we can keep players fit and stay clear of injuries, illnesses, it’s going to be interesting.”
Hill saw his side rack up their 11th goal in three games and although eight have come against the same team, he was pleased to see off a Braintree side that had taken points from Maidenhead and Boreham Wood in recent weeks.
“They’ve improved recently, they’ve come off a very good 1-0 win away at Maidenhead on Saturday so we knew it’d be tough,” Hill said. “At their last home game they drew 1-1 with Boreham Wood and should have won so we had to apply the game properly in respect of the way we set out and the attitude. We got off to the ideal start and to get an early goal and then Michael Cheek scored, it was a first half that we contained and certainly were very much in control. And we carried on the good work in the second half as well.”
Early goals once again helped the Fleet on their way, in sharp contrast to the goals they were conceding in the early part of the season and that’s often been the thin line between success and failure.
“That gives you a platform,” said Hill. “Everybody knows this is a very hard league coming from behind to win games and it gives you that security early on, it relaxes you a little bit but it’s a very pleasing factor. You make five changes on the Saturday and beat a very good Eastleigh side 3-0 and you come here against a team that’s struggling, yes, but they work hard for Hakan [Hayrettin]. We knew it wouldn’t be easy but to make four changes again today from five the other day and go out there and get another convincing win and another clean sheet, it’s very encouraging.
“Whoever you are playing in this league, you win by four goals it’s a very, very good result, even more so away from home. It’s a pleasing factor at the other end as well. It’s nice we’re getting goals at one end now, but the consistency of clean sheets, it gives you a great platform to build from.”
Fleet’s busy midwinter schedule comes to an end at managerless Chesterfield this weekend before a Saturday off and Hill’s looking no further than that.
“We’ll take things as they come along,” he said. “[The players] will have tomorrow off and we’ll be in Thursday morning and we’ll prepare for a very tough game at Chesterfield. I don’t look, and I really mean that, the same with Ian Hendon and the players, we don’t look [at games] and say this, say that. We know what our target is, we know where the target was coming into an important Christmas period, we’ve known what the target’s been since me and Ian Hendon have come into the club, if we want to be competitive in the second half of the season. We’ve got to go and be consistent in our performances and our results. We’ve shown that over the nine league games we’ve been here.”
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