Holleran gives thanks to his flanks

Tuesday night’s 3-1 defeat of Banbury followed on from a hard-fought 2-0 win over a resolute Cirencester side on Saturday and moved Leamington to within three points of the top five.

The manner of the victories was a far cry from the dark days of January and February when Brakes were in the midst of an 11-game sequence without a win and Holleran said much of the credit must go to his wide men.

“Lee Chilton is getting better and better as the games go on,” said Holleran.

“It was disappointing to lose Matty Dodd [to a hamstring injury] against Cirencester but Alex Taylor came off the bench and did well and we’ve got good options in wide areas.

“The two in the centre of the park are getting the ball out quickly to them and, especially against Banbury, we are able to stretch teams and create a lot of good chances.”

Brakes’ new-found belief will face a stern test tomorrow when they travel to AFC Totton, who lie second place in the Southern Premier League table.

However, after seeing Brakes slip as low as ninth earlier this month, Holleran is just happy to be back in among the play-off-chasing pack.

“You can talk all you like but there is nothing like wins for gaining belief - it picks everyone up,” he said.

“It’s tight in there and we’re back where we want to be, fighting it out.

“Everyone’s got to play each other and there are going to be plenty of twists and turns.

“We’re on a five-game unbeaten run and we’ve got to keep it going as long as we can.

“Whichever team gets on a run is going to get into the play-offs.”

Meanwhile, Jacob Blyth, who had a spell training with Birmingham City earlier this year, has attracted the attentions of two other Midlands clubs.

Premiership side West Brom and Championship big-spenders Leicester City have both made enquiries about the teenage striker in recent weeks, with Brakes boss Holleran now resigned to losing his leading scorer in the summer.

 Brakes are back in action again on Tuesday night when they entertain Swindon Supermarine (7.45pm).

 A collection for Richard Batchelor during the game against Banbury United on Tuesday evening raised £270 for the injured midfielder.

Batchelor suffered a broken metatarsal against Cambridge City which, as well as ruling him out for the season, has prevented him from doing his job as a binman.