Director of rugby admits the onus is on Maids to do much, much better

Maidenhead's director of rugby, Myke Parrott, believes the club is now competing on a more even keel with most clubs in the division, and he says the onus is now on them to do much better in the second half of the season.

Maids have competed well in many of the games they've played this season but their record of three wins from 12 matches remains one of the poorest in the London & South East Premier Division.

Parrott is convinced the club is better than their lowly standing in the division suggests and, having gradually got used to the higher tempo of play and more open expansive rugby, he believes they're better equipped to do well in the new year.

“One of the things we're clinging to is we're playing these sides now and we're not being outclassed,” he said.

“We're playing sides and we're saying, 'we should have beaten them', or saying 'they're good, but they're not that good'

“In some ways that’s great because we feel when we settle into our rhythm a little bit, and get a bit more experience in this league, we’ll be able to compete for a place in the top half.

“We definitely still feel we can compete in this division and in the upper half as well.

“That’s a challenge for us after Christmas and really turn the screw and see if we can have an improvement.

“We want to perform better than we did in the first half of the season, that’s the shortterm target and we want to set ourselves up for the following season.”

Playing three of the league's top five sides (Sevenoaks, Wimbledon and Dorking) in successive league fixtures may seem daunting, but Parrott believes this side has now turned a corner, something he hopes will be reflected both in improved performances and results in the coming weeks and months.

“We've got some tough games, Sevenoaks away on Saturday will be really difficult,” he said. “Wimbledon at home the week after and then Dorking away the first game after Christmas.

“But we feel we're starting to turn a corner with regards to injuries and quite a few lads that are starting to return now which is brilliant. Hopefully, some of them will get some game time with the 2s, with a view of getting back involved in the first team squad, which is a real boost, and if we perform well in the next two games, hopefully that confidence starts to build.”