A lot has changed at Alfreton, says AFC Telford full-back Ryan Wilson

The 24-year-old was at Alfreton Town for the past two seasons – but a lot has changed there since he left them early on in the summer.

The majority of Wilson’s spell with the Reds was under Nicky Law, who left the club in January for a recruitment role at Burnley.

Russ O’Neill then took the reins and kept them in National League North, but was relieved of his duties in May and replaced by John McDermott.

In similar fashion to the Bucks, they rebuilt their squad during the close season and have blown hot and cold so far this campaign.

When asked if he has a good idea of what to expect from Alfreton, Wilson said: “I played for them last season and the season before, but I don’t know if I could say that now.

“They have changed the manager and there are a lot of new players there.

“I know a few of the players who are still there, but there has been a lot of change.”

Wilson played twice against Telford last term – drawing 1-1 at the New Bucks Head on Boxing Day and beating Rob Smith’s charges 3-2 at the Impact Arena on New Year’s Day. Smith – who was sacked in the summer and swiftly replaced by Rob Edwards – described the latter performance as ‘shambolic’.

“I have probably managed over 1,000 games at this level – and that is the worst,” said the former Bucks chief post-match.

“Those lads that went out there have let the club down.

“They have let me down quite badly and it is shambolic, disgraceful – whatever word you want to use. It has come to a head and we are probably the worst team in the league at the moment.”

Things are certainly better now, but Telford are not in a rich vein of form at the moment.

They have gone three games without a win in the league, while Alfreton have lost their last four. Wilson is not focusing on all that though, and said: “(The 3-1 loss to) FC United last weekend just showed anyone can beat anyone in this league, you cannot be taking anything for granted.

“Alfreton have picked up some decent players over the last few months so we have to deal with them and make sure that we stick to our game plan.

“And if we do that, we are more than capable of getting a result against any team in this division.”

The Bucks are four points off the play-offs. They have won seven, drawn one and lost nine this term.

“We have been doing well for the first 45 minutes or so in recent weeks, but for whatever reason we have been struggling to break teams down and get goals in the second half,” said Wilson.

“The past few games we haven’t got the results, we just need to put together a good 90 minutes.

“What we try to do in every single game is start sharp, keep it tight at the back and look to get goals at the other end.”

He added: “We just have to make sure that we stick to what we know.

“If we can go and get a good three points here, we could be right back in the mix in the top half of the table – it is fine margins in this league.”