At the half way point in the season, manager Neil Miller is beginning to get an idea of his team and its capabilities. He's brought in new faces, stuck with some of the 'old guard' and firmly believes his side is making strides.

Steve Hendey is convinced that results aren't yet reflecting the work that has been done.

"If you look back over the last few months, we've come a long, long way. The main thing for me is that the atmosphere is good and the morale is there. From the outside it's understandable that people will make assumptions but it's been a pleasure to work with these lads so far. We've got some really, really talented young lads.

"Tom Harris can be unplayable, we've got Josh Clark in from Birstall, Keiron Lane who was with me at Melton. All of them are young and eager to learn and improve. We want Holwell to be a place where young, and particularly local lads, can come and enjoy their football."

After over a year in China, Hendey's son Mike also returns to the club in a player/coach capacity as he looks to gain his badges.

"I've been really looking forward to getting started. I know most of the lads from either playing with them or against them so I know there's easily enough here to be successful. I think for too long Holwell has been a team with no clear style and I want that to change in how we train and how we play. Having watched at Harrowby from the bench, the team already wants to play on the floor, build and encourages lads to be brave and take chances.

"If you look back on results, it could be tempting to say 'well let's go more direct and make it scrappy' but I've got a lot of respect for Miller for sticking to his guns and wanting to make progress by playing in what I'd call the right way. Obviously playing out from the back can leave you more exposed but you only improve by keeping at it and not panicking. I think that, come the new year and with the signings we've made, it's inevitable that the performances will turn to results."

In recent weeks Holwell have signed Luke Peberdy, Junior Gaskin and Keiron Lane as well as welcoming back Mike Hendey. 3 of the new signings were in evidence on the bench last night at Harrowby with Junior Gaskin claiming a debut goal.

So what does Neil Miller see for the rest of the season?

"As I've said before, this season is about building. There are obvious areas for improvement but in truth we aren't far away. It's been tough with no pre season to find a way to look at everyone and understand which combinations work and which don't. We've brought lads in but retained the core that started the season which has been really pleasing. The challenge now is blending that together.

It's definitely been challenging and it can be frustrating when results don't reflect performances but I can't fault the effort and attitude. Come the New Year I'd like to us work more defensively in training and just tweak those little mistakes that have been costing us. If we can do that I have no doubt that in 2019 we'll be climbing the table."