It was never going to be easy to follow Darren Gilbert in the hot seat at Bodmin Town.
Gilbert won just about every trophy going at South West non-league level during his 14 years as manager, and a further four as a player.
But it was the manner in which Bodmin won things which always made a trip to Priory Park something to look forward to. You knew you were going to see some good football.
Gilbert’s immediate successor during the summer, the likeable Matt Hayden, took over a squad which was disintegrating in front of his eyes and the biggest blow was losing the prolific Dan Jennings.
Hayden had no choice but to get numbers in as soon as possible in order to have a squad to choose from come the start of the season and when you have to recruit like that, quality becomes a secondary concern.
And of course, when you’re up against it, you find that injuries start to affect you. In Hayden’s case, three or four long term injuries struck in the opening month of the season to bring further disruption.
It was almost inevitable that poor results would follow in the opening weeks of the campaign and unfortunately it cost Hayden his job.
He had been brought in by Gilbert midway through last season to help with the coaching and recruitment, and was seen as a good addition to the backroom team.
His departure opened an opportunity for somebody to step in and try to turn this ailing giant of Cornish football around.
Bodmin turned to Dane Bunney, who had been out of local football since being harshly dismissed by Saltash United at the end of last season, despite the Ashes finishing fourth in the Western League.
During his time at Saltash, Bunney played a big part in securing the club’s promotion from the South West Peninsula League as assistant manager to Matt Cusack, and continued the development of a top quality squad when Cusack departed to Plymouth Parkway.
Bunney could have returned to local football sooner than he did but he made it fairly clear that it would take the right sort of club, and the right type of challenge, to entice him back.
That club and that challenge was Bodmin Town. And it’s a big challenge.
I happened to witness one of his early warm-up sessions with the players before a match at Priory Park, and it was a bit of an eye-opener.
After what he had been used to at Saltash, it must have come as something of a culture shock to see some players messing around and not taking the session very seriously half an hour before kick-off.
But he’s sorting it, bit by bit, piece by piece. Some of the players he inherited have already left; they are being replaced by better players. Football is a simple game.
In the last couple of weeks Bunney has signed the vastly experienced midfield man Dave Trott, who was a joy to watch in his hey-days with the Ashes.
He can still play, and showed touches of quality during his 53 minutes on the park in this week’s 2-2 home draw against Camelford.
The match also saw the return to the club of striker Kyle Marks, who had not been getting regular game time at St Blazey.
Another quality signing. When I asked Bunney why he had targeted Marks, he said: “Because he’ll score goals.”
Marks didn’t take long to deliver – three minutes to be precise. Pouncing on a long clearance and getting to the ball before the Camelford keeper to send a looping header into an empty net.
His party piece came an hour later, when he was picked out wide on the left and unleashed an unstoppable shot, which pleasingly crashed into the net off the underside of the bar.
What is it about shots that crash in off the underside of the bar?
Although Bodmin were not at their best – credit to a young Camelford side who continue to play good football under the guidance of long-standing manager Reg Hambly – there are definite signs of progress.
Bit by bit, piece by piece.
KJM SPORTS 