Leighton Town 'getting better and better' according to boss Bircham

They beat Biggleswade United 5-1 on Saturday, putting them third in the Spartan South Midlands League standings with five wins out of their six games so far.

And Bircham was impressed with his squad, who showed great perseverance and quality to get back to basics in the league.

He said: “Obviously, 5-1 is a great result. I still get narked about letting one in, but that’s how it is. The boys took their bloody nose a couple of weeks ago. They’ve responded magnificently after that.

"Biggleswade – they’re a good side as well and they asked a lot of questions of us. But the boys just won their battles today, shape looked really good. Week by week, it’s getting better and better. They’re knowing each other more. All in all, I couldn’t really be any happier.”

Despite the heavy scoreline, things weren’t quite as easy as they seemed. The day began with management having to chop and change just before the first whistle.

Bircham said: “They’ve all put a shift in. We’ve juggled it around today. Oran [Jackson] got injured in the warm-up, so we’ve had to juggle that, and it didn’t look any different. That’s what I love about the boys we’ve got – no matter what we do, we don’t look weaker because of it. So long may that continue.”

Along with goals, another consistent feature of a Leighton Town home game is the fervent support. This week, there were 403 present. The week before there were 410. Bircham repeated just how important the fanbase is.

He said: “It’s unbelievable support. I keep saying this, it’s a two-way thing. We’ve got to make sure we’re performing. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got the players good enough to warrant the people to keep turning up and coming through the gates. Likewise, if we’ve got the players, the supporters have to make sure they keep coming.

“So far, it’s brilliant. The connection between us and the supporters is good. We want that. The supporters have to realise that the reason a lot of these players are here is it’s not just because I know them, it’s because of the fanbase we get. The big thing this club’s got is the support base. A Spartan South Midland game with over 400 people is phenomenal.”

Leighton are at Baldock Town on Tuesday night (4th) in the Dudley Latham Memorial Cup.