Hawkins: We're sticking together and keeping things the same

First team boss Mark Shaw is currently suspended, for reasons unknown, and the club’s leadership structure is yet to be revealed.

But while all about them is shrouded in mystery, there’s no secret about the recent success of the Tigers on the pitch.

Jack Hawkins says caretaker boss Jon Kennedy has just carried on the work done by Shaw.

“Kendo has got all the lads’ respect as captain, that wasn’t going to change, and he’s kept things exactly as they were,” said the midfielder.

“He’s kept us ticking over, I don’t think there was too many things fundamentally wrong in the way we were training and what we were doing on match days.

“But he’s come in and we’ve had a little bit of luck that I don’t think we’ve been getting this season.”

Worksop’s current five-game NCEL Premier unbeaten run began with a 1-1 draw at Maltby, when Shaw was still in charge.

Hawkins sees that game as a turning point in their recent fortunes, having lost the previous four.

“At Maltby we went and stopped the rot,” he said.

“That was a bit of a turning point, that was with the gaffer in charge and he’d just brought Lee Walshaw in.

“That was the biggest one because we could build on that, stopping the run of defeats and starting to pick up some points.”

Hawkins, who has filled in at right-back at times this season, insists the players aren’t distracted by the off-field events and says they’ve remained close as a group.

“We were 100 per cent behind the gaffer and we’re 100 per cent behind Kendo – if the gaffer comes back it’ll be exactly the same,” he said.

“It hasn’t made a massive difference because he’s kept things pretty much as they were with the gaffer.

“We don’t have that much to do with the off field issues, that’s for the club to sort out, but as a dressing room we stick together.

“Our job is to train and play, that’s what we’re paid to do.”