Taking chances the key for Belper Town - says boss Grant Black

The Nailers cruised past Market Drayton Town 4-0 in their league opener at the weekend.

It left the Town chief delighted by his side’s cutting edge and marks what he sees as a step up in ruthlessness from last season.

“We scored a lot of goals last year and created a lot of chances,” he said.

“We probably could have scored more goals and been nearer to the top of the table if we had killed teams off better.

“In pre-season we got into good areas, but did not got enough shots off, so we worked on that in training.

“When you get shots away anything can happen so it was pleasing to see that coming off.

“When we had Market Drayton at our mercy we hammered the nail in the coffin, maybe last year we wouldn’t have put them away and it would be tougher for us and closer at the end.

“We have a good attacking mentality this year and hopefully that is a sign to come.”

And Black is hopeful his promotion-chasers can build on their opening day when they entertain Chasetown on Saturday.

“They have set off quite well and Chasetown are a tough cookie to crack,” he added.

“It took an injury time penalty for a very good Frickley side to beat them and Frickley will be right up there.

"I don't think we were at it for the first 20 mins on Saturday as funny as that might sound. We were slow to get going and that is something we will look at.

“We know we need to be more at it this Saturday to beat Chasetown, but we will take the positives and look to build momentum.

“We have assembled a good squad and side and we can only beat ourselves a lot of time this year.

“If we come prepared then we will be tough for Chasetown, as much as they will be tough for us.”

The Belper boss is now hoping for another good crowd after they saw 398 fans attend at the weekend under limited capacity guidelines.

But Black says the most pleasing aspect was the number of new fans who came to see his side in action.

“It was great to see the fans back,” he said. “You see a different spring in the step for the lads now they have someone to perform to.

“We had good feedback with people saying how safe and comfortable they felt.

"There is plenty of room for everyone to be safe. There were a lot of new fans and hopefully they will stay and watch us and get the Belper Town bug.

“We have to keep aiming to attract fans. Hopefully we can milk it for the next 5-6 weeks and fill the coffers in the short term if nothing else.

“There is a lot of graft going into non league football and even more so now.

“The fans that came on Saturday can get closer to the atmosphere and can feel more a part of it than being in the top row at a 40,000 capacity ground.

“It’s a different feel and it was really good on Saturday. We performed on the pitch but there was a nice vibe and hopefully we can pick up the pieces from the bigger clubs.”