Consecutive wins keep Hoole happy

Hoole reckons the Gladiators are on the right lines ahead of their opener against Lancaster City on Saturday 18 August after pre-season wins over Gresley and Chesterfield, a 3-0 win at the Moatmen on Saturday followed by a thrilling 4-2 success against a youthful Spireites on Monday night watched by a bumper crowd of 1,333 at the Proctor Cars Stadium.

Hoole, pictured, told fans on Tuesday: "Things are starting to come together a bit. Without getting too excited there's been glimpses of how we want to play and what we want to do. I was particularly pleased with what we did against Chesterfield.

"We've proved we can mix it with the pro clubs, now it's a mentality thing. It doesn't matter who you play against, you have to perform. The bar's been set and there's competition for places throughout the squad."

Jamie Jackson, Billy Whitehead, with his first senior goal, and Michael Williams were on a target on a parched Gresley pitch before Jordan Chappell, Jackson, Kieren Watson and Williams scored against National League Chesterfield.

"The pitch was a great leveller at Gresley, it was a workout for the boys but that's about as much as I could get out of it," said the Gladiators boss. "It goes to show how hard our volunteers work at Matlock, our lush pitch is 200 per cent better."

Hoole was also delighted with Matlock's start against Chesterfield after falling behind to a Jake Philips own goal, insisting: "We started off really well which is important. Their goal came against the run of the play and was one of those unfortunate ones you can do little about if you're in Jake's shoes. But we kept on knocking the ball about and we got what we deserved. We worked hard and passed the ball well on a good pitch so I'm very happy with the performance and the result."

Jamie Jackson, on the fringes of the first team in the Northern Premier League's top flight last season, also impressed as he looks to make a concerted effort for inclusion from the start this term.

"I've known Jamie for a while and he's revitalised this season. We've got him playing football, his confidence is up and his hard work is paying off," said Hoole who was also delighted with the size of Monday night's crowd and his eighth recruit of the summer, former Chesterfield winger Adam Smith."

He added: "Adam Smith's a great signing, he's loving what we're doing here. He's about a week away from being fit after an operation. As for the others, we'll be talking with them shortly. We had fantastic support from both Chesterfield and Matlock fans and hopefully both clubs will do well. Both sets of fans deserve that."

Images courtesy of Matlock Town & @5shirt/Twitter

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