REFLECTING on Saturday’s win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town, Bridgwater Town co-manager Dave Pearse told the Mercury: “Our lads had a training programme [during lockdown], so they kept their fitness levels up, and that showed on Saturday.

“There was rustiness in the first 10 minutes - the ball was a bit of a hot potato - but for our first game back, we did well, we looked solid and I was very impressed.

“We showed really good team spirit, the lads are buying into the changes at the club, and [the resilience in] the last half-hour was what got us through.”

READ MORE: Robins seal Vase progress

The third round draw has handed the Robins a trip to another Hellenic League side, Brimscombe & Thrupp, on December 19.

The Gloucestershire side have three wins and two draws from their five Premier Division games so far this season, and they defeated Bridgwater’s fellow Western League team Bradford Town in the Vase on Saturday.

“I’d rather not play teams in our own league, but it will be tough and we will need to be very prepared,” said Pearse.

“They are playing a league game this Saturday, whereas we’re more stop-start.

“We’ll have an in-house game on Saturday, which will be a chance for players to put their name in the hat for the Vase tie.”

On the changes taking place at Bridgwater, with Adam Murry taking control, Pearse added: “Adam Murry is very, very keen to take the club forward, and already we’ve seen big changes.

READ MORE: New chairman approved as part of Robins overhaul

“Only a couple of players have come in, though, and the team has been left to me and Karl [Baggaley].

“[Murry] has introduced lots of new things, mainly off the field, like tidying up the ground and ensuring the club is self-sufficient.

“Hopefully this time next year we will be pushing those top places to get back into the Southern League.”