Thetford Town player-boss Matt Morton not getting carried away with flying start to Thurlow Nunn League campaign

Thetford Town will head into Christmas at the top of the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division – but player-manager Matt Morton insists his feet remain firmly on the ground.

The Brecklanders are currently six points clear at the Premier Division’s summit ahead of a trip to bottom side Haverhill Rovers tomorrow (3pm).

After last weekend’s programme of fixtures were wiped out due to the cold weather, it means, barring an unlikely swing in goal difference over the next two games, Thetford will also be top at the start of 2023.

“My feet are firmly on the ground and I’m not getting carried away,” Morton said. “There are a lot of good teams in this league and they’ve all got a shot at the title.

“While we’re in a strong position, I think we’re joint favourites with four or five other teams at the moment.

“It’s a great position to be in, but it’s a different type of pressure now.

“The players have stepped up to the expectation. At the beginning of the season the only pressure we had was internal, as we all believed we could do it, but we knew we needed a good start.”

It will be a much more enjoyable Christmas at Mundford Road this time round than it was back in 2020, when Thetford found themselves bottom of the table during a Covid-interrupted campaign which would see no more games played after December 25.

After signing off last season with five wins from their last six, to finish in 15th place, Morton’s side have enjoyed a fine 2022/23 campaign so far, going on an eight match winning run to soar to the top of the table.

“I guess it means no matter what I can potentially have a smile on my face on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day at least!” Morton said.

“But if we don’t have the same gap (of six points) by then I probably won’t be smiling. I’m delighted where we are and so far we’re fulfilling our potential, that’s all we’re doing.

“The first six or seven games there were a few raised eyebrows. ‘What the hell’s happening at Thetford?’

“I think everyone’s now expecting us to maintain it and they’ve seen how we’re playing and how difficult we are to beat.

“Haverhill have steadied the ship a little bit. They were conceding a lot of goals and were on the wrong end of some pretty disastrous scorelines.

“But in the last few weeks they’ve only lost by a goal or so and they’ve picked up their first win.

“I’m expecting a much more difficult game than if we would have played them four or six weeks ago.”