Bucks in buoyant mood

Boss Rob Smith saw his AFC Telford United side climb to second in Blue Square North and issued an ominous warning to their rivals by declaring: "We're getting better."Matty Lewis' 13th goal of the season settled Saturday's clash with Hucknall at the New Bucks Head, and that was enough for Telford to climb two places in the standings as results elsewhere went their way.

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That has left Smith in confident mood as he gears up for a demanding February that will see his side face several play-off contenders.

They will clock up more than 800 miles in the course of three consecutive away games at the start of the month, with trips to Workington, Leigh and Boston on the agenda.

"I think it's going great. The lads are superb - we've got some talent there and I think we're getting better as an all-round unit," said Smith.

"Jon Adams was everywhere on Saturday and I didn't see him give the ball away once, and he wasn't the only one to have a really good game.

"We've got players like Indy Khela, Asa Charlton and Richard Teesdale missing but we're looking okay.

"February is going to be a really tough month and we've got a lot of travelling to do, but we're looking forward to it now.

"We're not back at the New Bucks Head for a while so we wanted to sign off with a good performance for the fans. They were tremendous on Saturday, they were behind us all the way and I was really pleased."

Telford didn't have it all their own way against a determined Hucknall side who created a number of chances of their own.

But Smith was delighted to see the way his side stood up to the challenge and grew in stature as the game progressed.

"We knew they'd be a strong, tough side," he added. "They've got a lot of experience at the back and they're tough to break down."