DENE Whittal-Williams is loving life on the managerial learning curve at Malvern Town.

The joint-boss reckons Langland Avenue is the place to be on the back of a £1million overhaul of club facilities being given the green light by council planners.

It is a first managerial post for Whittal-Williams and right-hand man Lee Hooper but Town have started strongly in the West Midlands (Regional) League, sitting fourth in the table with two points per game.

“We are getting to know the characters in our dressing room, what they react to and where the performances come from,” said Whittal-Williams.

“At the moment we don’t seem to be right in midweek games which is disappointing. That’s where we have dropped most of our points.

“It is difficult to put your finger on why. We have been consistent about the parts of the team we have rotated, keeping the spine of the side the same which should stand us in good stead.

“The main thing has been putting the ball in the back of the net consistently and the lads know that but everyone is willing to dig deep to try to improve that.

“We are all learning, it is a bit of a new regime but we are trying to remain positive because you only play your best football when you’re happy and we’re all here to enjoy it.

“With the planning all going through it is such a great place to be and we have a lot of lads who want to play for us and be a part of what we’re doing.

“We are lucky to have a good band of supporters who back us home and away, there must have been 30 or 40 people from Malvern at Highgate on Wednesday and it means a lot to everyone, especially us in the dressing room.”

Malvern lost 4-2 at Highgate United having spurned a host of chances in the Worcestershire Senior Urn last-eight tie.

Goals from Nick Seabourne, Connor Deards and Aaron Brown made Town pay for their profligacy with Harry Clark and Josh Hunt on target after the interval to threaten a comeback either side of Seabourne’s second.

“We had a good go, especially second half,” added Whittal-Williams.

“I didn’t think we deserved to lose 4-2. We worked hard and were disappointed to concede the goals we did because we knew the danger they could cause.

“At the end we told the lads to take the positives. We won the second half which gives us a bit of momentum going into Saturday.”

Next up is fifth-placed Haughmond’s visit to Langland Avenue on Saturday (3pm).

“It is a massive game, we can’t afford to drop any points and it is as simple as that,” said Whittal-Williams.

“The lads realise that so we want to try not to create too much pressure but enough to make sure we get the performance we need.

“We should be full of confidence on the back of how we have played across the season, we just need to get that consistency into our game.”

Malvern: Weaver, Webb (Jarvis, 89), Wickett, A Saunston, J Saunston, Harris, Turner, Lane (Fusco, 85), Hunt, Griffin (Noke, 81), Clark. Unused subs: Watkins, Dyde.