Leiston midfielder Craig Parker is looking forward to the rest of the season after the club finally looks to have steadied the ship on and off the field.

The Blues host 11th-placed Grays Athletic today looking to continue their recent good form.

Leiston have been battling among the relegation places for the majority of the season but, after scoring 15 goals in three wins on the trot in the league, under their third manager of the season in Steve Ball, the Blues are up to the mid-table berths of the Ryman Premier.

Parker joined Leiston under Danny Laws in the summer but suffered an indifferent start which saw the goal-scoring midfielder frustrated with form and a troublesome toe injury.

“We were struggling,” admitted Parker.

“Thankfully though we’ve looked like we’ve turned the corner.

“Football’s a funny old game and we couldn’t score for love nor money earlier in the season but we can’t stop at the minute and our fortunes have changed.”

The Blues thumped promotion chasing Bognor Regis Town 5-2 in front of their own fans on Tuesday night in what was one of their best performances of the season.

“It was a great result against top opposition,” confirmed Parker.

“They’ll be up there at the end of the season but we’ve got to just keep on concentrating on getting results.”

And results is something the Blues certainly have got of late.

Other emphatic wins over Enfield Town (6-1) and Thamesmead Town (4-2) have left the Suffolk side 11 points clear of the relegation zone as things stand and Parker insists that the club are only looking up the table.

“We’re only now half-way through the season and I think a lot of people forget that after all the things that have happened this season,” said Parker.

“Bally is doing a great job and hopefully we’ll continue to grind results out and just see where we end up.”

Ball was appointed earlier this month after Steve Pitt, who had only been in charge for six weeks, was relieved of his duties.

“It was a difficult situation,” admitted Parker.

“The club dealt with it in the way they chose and we as players just had to get on with it.

“As far as we’re concerned we’re just looking to let our football do the talking and hopefully continue to get the results our recent performances have warranted.”

Leiston face Suffolk rivals Lowestoft and Bury in two mouth-watering encounters in the coming weeks but start a flurry of festive fixtures today against Grays, a team Parker is wary of.

He said: “Grays have come up this year and have done quite well.

“I didn’t play in the 3-2 defeat earlier in the season because of my toe but they looked like a good side and it’ll hopefully be an entertaining game against them.”

The Blues are set to welcome striker Ryan Crisp back to the fold today after his successful one-month loan spell at Needham Market expired.

Crisp scored five goals while on loan at Bloomfields and is expected to be in Steve Ball’s squad today.