MANAGER Les Jones believes Malvern Town’s victory in the final of the Worcestershire Senior Urn confirms they are heading in the right direction.
Town secured the crown with a 3-0 win over Midland Football League Division One leaders Highgate United at Evesham United’s Jubilee Stadium last week.
It was the first silverware won by Malvern since Jones arrived as manager three years ago and businessman Chris Pinder helped save the club from closure in 2013.
“It was a fantastic evening,” Jones said. “Everything just went to plan. We had watched them and knew they were very strong up front, so our main goal was to stay in contention.
“I just felt we had enough strength in depth over the 90 minutes and that told in the end, so it was a really great performance and a terrific result for the club.
“It is confirmation that we are going in the right direction and what we are doing at the club is right on and off the pitch.
“I came to the club three seasons ago and they had been relegated two or three times in quick succession, so first of all it was about stabilising the club.
“Then the new owners came in and with that support we have been able to put the structures in place which have brought us the success.”
Jones said his side were in a “rich vein of form” as they backed up their success in the cup with a 3-1 victory over Shawbury United on Saturday.
And the Malvern boss said they are now focused on finishing the season in West Midlands Regional League Premier’s top six.
“Over the last ten leagues games our current form would see us move into second in the league behind Sporting Khalsa, who have won the league,” Jones said.
“But we have got three really tough league games coming up, starting away from home on Saturday at Wolverhampton Sporting Community and finishing with a trip to Gornal with a local derby against Pegasus sandwiched in between.
“They are all tough, but we are in good form, so we are confident.”
He added: “We have been hanging on to sixth place for a while. There are a couple of teams which can easily overtake us if they win all their games, but we have got to focus on winning on Saturday and put the pressure on them.
“To me personally, finishing in the top five or top six would mean more than the cup final as it is the true test of the quality of the squad.
“We played over 40 games where we have had to go away to places like Ellesmere Rangers and Wellington Amateurs, so to finish in the top six would be fantastic.”