Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Plymouth Parkway pulled Swindon Supermarine further clear of the Pitching In Southern League Premier South relegation zone.
The result made it three games unbeaten for the Wiltshire outfit whose fortunes have improved since the appointment of former Football League striker, Stuart Fleetwood, earlier in the season when they found themselves rooted to the foot of the table amidst some choppy waters for the club.
“The morale of the team was very low when the Gaffer came in,” admitted midfielder, Liban Ibrahim, who has gone on to establish himself as a key cog in the engine room of the team. “We’d picked up just one point from a possible 30 and we just couldn’t get out of the downward spiral.
“Then we had a change of management and a few fresh faces came into the team and it changed everything.
“There have been ups and downs along the way but generally we’ve moved in the right direction. We kept all of our goals realistic and have been able to tick them off one-by-one as we have gone along.
“We have plenty of quality within the group; we’re still not clear of relegation yet, but we know that it’s now in our own hands and if we continue to work hard then we will achieve our objectives for this season.
“My personal progress has stepped up massively. It was a bumpy start for us all and I found myself coming off the bench a lot in those early weeks of the season.
“I knew that I just had to be patient, express my talents when I had the opportunity to and then my time would come. I set myself high standards whenever I step out on to the pitch and I am pleased to have been able to establish myself in the team as the season has gone on.
“As a group we all want the best for each other and we are able to push each other to our limits in every game and every training session.
“There’s a hunger to succeed and that comes from the top, having that professional mentality and mindset.
“The standard of the Premier South this season is very high. It’s higher than a lot of people think; the players are sharper and stronger than previously and the margin for error is very small as nine times out of ten every slight mistake is punished.
“There are also an increasing number of players who have come into this division having played at higher levels and for young players like me it is good to be able to see them at close quarters and learn from players who have been there and done it.
“It’s no surprise that a lot of young lads have gone from this level into the professional ranks, it really is a good breeding ground for emerging talent.”
Having put in a goalscoring Man of the Match display in their previous game as they shared the spoils with Tiverton Town, Ibrahim was also instrumental in the weekend’s commanding triumph over Plymouth Parkway.
“The performance wasn’t similar to how we would have usually played,” he added. “It tested our resilience and our effectiveness to switch between our playing styles.
“We usually like to keep the ball and pass our way around teams, but we have also learned that the most important thing is the victory and sometimes those three points have to be won ugly!
“The target in these remaining games is to pull away from the relegation places. There is plenty of belief that we can do this, but at the same time we know that we have to remain focussed on the task in hand because any lapse in concentration will be seized upon by those clubs fighting it out below us.
“After the start we made to the season, to be in this position with eight games to go is testament to the hard work that has been put in and we don’t want to let all of this go to waste.”
A home game against Hendon is next up for Supermarine on Saturday.
IMAGE: Swindon Supermarine FC
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