Bury St Edmunds head coach, Nick Wakley, has overseen two crucial victories during his first month in charge of the National League Two South club.

Key wins at the lowly duo of Birmingham & Solihull (33-17) and London Irish Wild Geese (26-5) have lifted the Wolfpack into ninth spot, a healthy 17 points clear of the relegation zone at the mid-point of the season.

Now Wakley is looking for his new charges to up their game still further, to record a first home win under his stewardship against Old Albanians this afternoon.

“Last weekend (at Birmingham) was another good result in tough conditions, and that’s what it came down to – us playing the conditions better than them,” explained Wakley.

“We just had one little blip, with a misjudged box-kick, but otherwise we were very professional and limited them to only very small opportunities.

“There was a swirling wind, which was more against us in the second half, but that was when we looked at our strongest in terms of our game-management and our tactical kicking.

“Our set pieces went well as well, and we gained in our superiority as the game went on.

“It’s been a very satisfactory start. I know it sounds strange, but it has been more about performances than results so far.

“When I came in, the club was on a bit of a downward spiral with just one win in six games, but we have managed to take points from every game that we have played.

“We have become harder to break down, and we’ve built a good platform with our defence.

“The good results have taken the pressure off us, and we are looking up the table rather than down the table. We are clawing points off people,” added Wakley.

Today’s visitors Old Albanians, sixth in the table, have former Bury Director of Rugby, Gavin Hogg, at the helm.

Wakley continued: “We have had two great wins, both away from home. Now we have an exciting home game to finish off 2018. We’re looking forward to a big crowd at home, and we’ll be going all out for the win.

“It will be a tough ask, against Old Albanians, and their coach Gavin Hogg is spoken of very highly at The Haberden.

“We would love to do the double over them,” added Wakley.