AFC Sudbury boss Mark Morsley is confident any ‘doubters’ among his club’s fans have been won over by his side’s performances and results this season.

There were a few rumblings among some Sudbury supporters after Morsley took over at the helm and more young players were introduced to the first XI, with results not immediately forthcoming.

He knows there is a long way to go, but the west Suffolk side are sitting in seventh position. On Saturday they travel to Barking in Bostik North.

“We are in and around the play-offs and that is tangible progress,” Morsley said.

“We were never going to finish in the top five this season and I stick by that. We are not ready to go up anyhow.

“I know what Step 3 is like, I’ve been there.

“The top sides in our division have that financial clout and experience to get where they are today. It takes time to give youngsters a chance as we have. And it takes time to get the right blend of experienced player to buy into what we are doing.

“That is happening.

“Certainly I think the few doubters among our fans have bought into what we are trying to do. There have been some fantastic performances and results from us this season so far.”

However, Morsley knows – as someone who has won Step 4 and managed in Step 3 – what is required to move up a level, as he and his side head to Barking at the weekend.

“These are the types of games we need to win,” (against Barking) Morsley added.

“The grass will be long and the pitch maybe heavy. It’s a long way from our 3G pitch, but we need to find ways of winning these games because the top teams who go onto get promotion will do so.”

Barking are currently 13th in the 20-strong league, but have won half their home league games so far.

However, they suffered a poor 2-5 defeat at lowly Dereham last weekend that manager Justin Gardner described as ‘a dreadful display’.

It was a mixed bag of results for Sudbury during January and they failed to beat three of the top five sides, Heybridge, Aveley and leaders Bowers & Pitsea. But secured wins over Tilbury and Bury. Last weekend they beat Felixstowe & Walton.

On Tuesday night, Sudbury travel to Brentwood in a re-arranged league clash.