LITTLE Oakley joint-boss Paul Sadler has praised his players for turning around the club’s fortunes.

After failing to win in their first four Kent Blaxill Essex and Suffolk Border League fixtures, the club have enjoyed a real purple patch and head into the festive period sitting sixth.

They have won their last three premier division matches, six of their last seven and have gleaned 23 points from their 15 games.

“The first few weeks of the season were ones to forget,” said Sadler.

“It took time for us to get going but, since then, we’ve played very well and credit has to go to the players.

“We’ve had a couple of slip-ups along the way but we’ve picked up a lot of points and it’s been quite a turnaround.

“We’ve made a few changes and freshened things up a bit, by bringing in players from our strong reserve set-up, and thankfully it’s paid off.

“We’re playing well and confidence is building.”

For the full story, see this week's Standard.