STEVE KITTRICK: Happy with the table after fine start

We are level at the top of the pile with South Shields having picked up two points per game, which is a ratio that wins you leagues.That is despite the standard that we are playing in at the moment, I think this division is as strong as the Conference North was when I was managing in it a few years back.All you have to do is look at the players that teams like Mickleover are putting out against us.It is hard work at the moment, playing every Tuesday and Saturday. It is about rest, recovery and getting into the routine.Tuesdays are difficult as well because, as I’ve said before, you don’t know what you are going to get from your players.The trip to Mickleover was an example of this because we had Nathan Valentine turning up at 7.20pm because he couldn’t get out of work.James Cadman’s girlfriend is also expecting to give birth at any time, so he is on a knife’s edge all of the time.And it doesn’t get any easier because this Tuesday-Saturday routine continues for another month until the start of November.Because of this we will have to change things around and try different things, like we did against Mickleover.In that game we went from Plan A, to Plan B and then on to Plan C.We started with a 4-3-3, changed it to 4-4-2 and then finished with 5-3-2.It was a case of having to do something because it wasn’t working. I have to make the brave decisions because that is what I’m here for.This time it paid off because when we changed it to 5-3-2 it caught them off guard and Wally (James Walshaw) got in to score.A point was ok and we are happy with that, but all three would have been nicer.We just need to follow up what we have been doing on Saturday when we entertain Nantwich.They will be a strong, organised side, like most are in this division and they have picked up 11 points from their seven games, which is solid enough.There are some very interesting fixtures over the next month or so. It will be a case of maintaining what we are doing if we want to achieve what we set out to do.