CHIPPENHAM Town manager Gary Horgan says his National League Manager of the Month award is “a reward for a year’s worth of effort from everyone at the club.”

The Bluebirds’ boss was recognised as the top boss in all three National League divisions for March after leading his team – who were in serious danger of suffering relegation at the start of the month – to six wins and two draws from eight high-pressure games.

As a result of their outstanding sequence of 15 matches unbeaten – prior to a 6-1 thumping at Slough Town on Good Friday – Chippenham are safe from relegation and proudly in 14th with three games to play.

The modest Bluebirds’ manager was keen to share his praise around not only the team but across the entire club too.

Horgan said: “It’s a year since we got together, and I’ve talked about it recently with us receiving two Team of the Week awards and a Manager of the Month – which I call a Team of the Month.

“It absolutely has been a team effort, and a team effort over the course of the past year. This is a reward for all of the staff and anyone who gives up their free time for the club, but most importantly for the players because they are the most important part of it, really.

“They’ve gone out and performed admirably over the past month, and to do it for that length of time under the pressure of needing to win games to stay in the division, is nothing short of incredible.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

George Alexander’s four-goal haul for Slough broke Chippenham’s resolve on Friday, and Elliot Benyon added to Josh Jackman’s effort as the Bluebirds celebrated only Alex Bray’s solitary strike in the sobering result.

But Chippenham bounced back impressively at home on Easter Monday to record a 2-1 success against Hampton and Richmond Borough.

Dean Inman opened the scoring for the visitors, but second-half strikes from Bray and Joe Parker turned the game on its head.

Discussing the bouncebackability of his team, Horgan was delighted with the response in result and performance.

He said: “We felt it was really important to come back and at least, not necessarily get a positive result, but certainly put in a positive performance because the Friday was well below par – not just over the past month or so, but well below where we think we should be as a group.

“What the weekend did show is that Friday was probably just one game too far in that sequence of games.

“15 games in 48 days, really important games too, and to only have one blip shows the strength of mentality we have in our group.”