Cornard United manager Gary Monti happy with how promoted side have adapted to Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division

After taking some time to adapt to a higher level and navigating a budget cut, manager Gary Monti is confident that his Cornard United players have now settled into life in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division.

Prior to their trip to Lakenheath on October 26, the newly-promoted Ards found themselves in the relegation zone having won just two of their opening 11 league fixtures.

However, a 2-1 victory that day marked the start of an unbeaten run that has now stretched to eight games after last weekend’s 4-2 home triumph at the expense of Stowmarket Town.

That sequence of results, which has included a 1-0 win over table-topping Fakenham Town, has moved Monti’s men up to 12th in the table with a healthy seven-point gap to the bottom three.

And that has been achieved in the midst of the need to reduce the playing budget in November – something that Monti feels has galvanised the squad.

“It took us a little while to get used to the level,” said Monti. “The pace is quicker, you get less touches and the overall general play is higher, which you would expect after promotion.

“But we finished the season on a long unbeaten run and I think the lads felt a little bit like they were unbeatable, but this is a step up and it showed.

“It took us 10 games or so to get used to the pace of games but now we’ve adapted.

“There’s a real togetherness in the group after the budget cut and they’re all battling for the management team.

“It’s frustrating that we had the budget cut not even halfway through the season, but I completely understand the club cannot pay out money it doesn’t have. We’ll just stick together and keep our heads down.”

Despite the fact that they have beaten the leaders, Monti believes the game that shows just how far his team have come in recent weeks was the 2-2 draw with Thetford Town on December 21.

The second-placed Brecklanders hammered Cornard 6-1 in the league and FA Vase earlier in the season, but it was a much different affair the third time around.

“They were a lot better than us in the two games and it showed the size of the gap we had to close up,” added Monti. “But we should have beaten them a couple of weeks ago, we dominated the game.

“It really showed the progress that we’ve made, especially since the first time that we played them.”

The victory over Stowmarket, which featured goals from Louie Arnold, Freddy Cooper, Charlie Lindoe and Karl Swanborough, marked the halfway point of Cornard’s season.

And with 19 games remaining, Monti is eyeing up a top half finish.

“We’re not far away from it (the top half) and we’ve got games in hand on most of the teams around us as well,” added the boss.

“It feels like that’s an achievable target and if we do it I think that would be as big an achievement as last season’s promotion.”

Cornard will look to stretch their unbeaten form to nine matches on Saturday when they travel to face another in-form side in Woodbridge Town (3pm). The fourth-placed Woodpeckers have lost just two of their last 11 league fixtures.