"WE'VE played better and lost," was the message from Leatherhead manager Richard Brady on New Year's Day.
He had watched his side grind out a 3-1 victory at home to Walton & Hersham to continue their fine run of form which was seen them move up into fourth place in the Ryman League Division One South. And Brady says that their league position will "look after itself" if they keep winning.
He said: "At the moment it's about winning games and that [play-off position] will look after itself. We're not obsessed with where we are in the league, we're just going to try and win games and see where it takes us.
"All the while we're winning games we won't be far off though."
Walton & Hersham had their chances against the Tanners, but did not convert them and Brady admitted that their second half performance was just enough to secure a fourth straight victory.
He added: "You take what you can, we were stronger in the second half, we didn't really perform in the first half and we weren't tight enough to them and didn't capitalise on the early goal and were sloppy in possession.
"We changed things pretty early in the second half to keep possession and I think that worked. You can't build any momentum if you keep giving the ball away and we looked a bit tired in the first half.
"When we brought Sam [Blackman] and [Ryan] Flack on, they're young, they've got legs, they had the bit between their teeth and as soon as they came on they definitely made an impact.
"We could have defended some set-pieces better, we got away with it to be fair, we struggled to cope with the aerial threats, but it's about three points and we've probably played better and lost.
"When you're on a run, confidence is high, spirits are good and when you're on a roll you want to play the next game and the next one and credit to the boys - they put in a shift and they know what they've got to do to win matches. It's about repeating it if you're going to stay at the top."
