DESPITE a very tricky start to the NCEL season, Eccleshill United boss Lee Elam believes his side doesn’t have cause for concern just yet.

The Eagles opened their account this season with a 2-0 victory at Bottesford Town on July 29 but have since gone on to lose their last four league games (written prior to Wednesday night’s result between Albion Sports and Eccleshill).

Elam made a surprise return to the club this summer only a year after departing for personal commitments.

The Eagles’ boss had guided Eccleshill to a 2nd place finish in the Premier Division the season he left, but the club struggled to find a similar sort of consistency with Ryan Toulson in charge throughout the 22/23 campaign.

“The games that we’ve lost in these first few weeks of the season have been against what I’d call strong and top-half teams,” Elam admitted.

He added: “We are still gelling together as a new team because we’ve obviously got new staff including myself, new players and with that comes different ideas.

“When I decided to return to this role at the start of the summer, I always knew that it would take a bit of time to find our feet. Pre-season definitely wasn’t long enough and of course, I’ve got to work my players out and get to know their qualities, ultimately.

“It’s about building on what we’ve got, getting the lads up to speed and then progressing forward like I did previously at the club.”

Elam declared his confidence of the group and admitted that he expects results to come sooner rather than later.

He said: “The performances in the first five games haven’t been too bad; we’ve actually had periods where we’ve looked very strong and where I’ve seen our philosophy come to life a bit. Our prowess in the final third has been the thing that has let us down on occasions, but that can be worked on.

“On the other hand, we are under no illusion that we need to get results, however I know they will come, and I have full belief that we can achieve the right results soon.”

Elam added: “Currently there is no concern that we won’t start to pick up points. We’ve got a couple of players who are closing in on a return to the squad; we’ll also look at finalising our squad in the market and then we’ll start to see the boys’ gel even more.

“I’m certainly not worried. The results will come.”

Eccleshill haven’t found a victory at home yet this season, but they have a chance to break that curse against league leaders Knaresborough Town on Saturday, who’ll arrive there off the back of five consecutive NCEL Premier Division victories to kick off the campaign.

Elam stressed the significance of picking up some home form momentum, when he said: “We want to make our home ground a fortress this season, which is something we did two seasons ago when I was in charge here.

“We know the potential we have to be special at home, and this weekend can provide us with a great opportunity to get up and running for the season.

“It’s going to be a tough test, especially considering how Knaresborough have started. They’re top of the league for a reason, but we feel that we are closing in on our next three points. It’s just a matter of time.”