Ability at Rangers pleases Matt Elliott

Stafford Rangers assistant manager Matt Elliott insists there is nothing wrong with the ability of the squad at Marston Road - despite their struggles on the pitch.

Elliott has been at the club for the last four weeks but results have not gone Rangers' way, before and after his arrival, with one point to show from their last six games.

However, boss Tim Flowers' No 2 as found himself "pleasantly surprised" by the talent on offer at Marston Road, having worked at close quarters with the squad on the training field.

The former Scotland international played at the highest level with Leicester and believes the Rangers' players - who are part-timers - are by no means a disgrace.

What the 42-year-old is hoping to do is to get the players thinking and acting like professionals under the tutelage of their big-name management team, with training sessions geared towards that goal.

It may not have filtered onto the pitch just yet but Flowers only completed his first month in charge this week, with Elliott urging patience as the duo try to steer the ship up the table.

He said: "You can improve people mentally just by talking to them individually, if players want to improve and learn then more often than not they will do.

"But I have been pleasantly surprised by the standard of the players in general, not just defensively.

"They are a good, solid bunch of lads, quite a young squad but they have really knuckled down and have approached it in the right way, I can't fault anyone in that respect.

"We have had a fair chance to look at the players in the squad and, in fairness to them, they have all shown a great enthusiasm for what we are trying to build."