Biggleswade Town boss Jimmy Martin: It has been a learning curve for us all

​Achieved through being champions of the Southern Premier League Division One Central last year, the Waders moved up to the Premier Division aiming to hold their own and avoid being one of the four sides that would drop out of the league again in April.

So far, it’s been a tough start, with the Waders currently bottom of the table with seven points and just one win to their name.

But for Martin, there has been no need to search for the panic button just yet.

He said: “We’re in an interesting position in the sense that most of our defeats have only been by one goal, and if we’d won some of the games we’d drawn – which in some cases we should have done – things would look very different.

"For a newly-promoted team I’d say that’s a real positive. We have a young side, a really supportive chairman who understands the situation and what we’re trying to do, and that we are up against some real big hitters in that league.

"You’ve got clubs like Kettering forking out for players like Gary Hooper, Nile Ranger and Jonny Edwards – I’m not going to publicly declare our wage budget but you can guess it’s nowhere near that of some other clubs!

"So it’s been a real eye opener and learning curve not just for me but for the players too.

"I didn’t know much about step three other than a few of the local clubs like Royston, Bishop’s Stortford and Hitchin, those geographically closest to us. Some of the clubs I know little about until we’re about to play them and I do my homework then.”

Recruitment for a newly-promoted step three club like Biggleswade can be a challenge.

Bringing in established players from that level can be hard when on a lower budget, so the Waders are having to rely on attracting top players from the levels below to come and be part of the new adventure.

Martin added: “When you bring in players from step five and four it’s an exciting challenge for them because they’re going from playing at some rickety old grounds to suddenly going somewhere like Stamford where it’s a great setup and that are well followed.

"They also have to be prepared and available to do more travelling than they’re used to. Zipping around London and the South-East is one thing but having to finish work really early to go do a seven-hour round trip on a Tuesday night is another.

"It’s hard to recruit. You can’t just bring anyone in, they have to be able to be a good person, be able to run and want to run – they’re the minimum requirements. It’s served us well up to now.

"It’s a big jump. I’d been at step five for ages, then went to step four and won it, but the jump this time has been incomparable from what I’ve seen so far.

"But I relish it, perhaps because it’s my first experience of it. If you’re in this situation repeatedly maybe it becomes more daunting!

"The reality is that in management you need to be motivated by facing something different every year, a different kind of challenge, and this is certainly it.

"I was at Potton for a long time and there it was a case of don’t go down and be competitive – that was success. However, as a manager you always have your own thoughts as to where you want to finish.

"Here, the first challenge will be to stay up, then see if we can finish mid-table, then see how it goes after that. It’s about consolidation.”

Martin achieved promotion as joint-manager alongside Danny Payne, who then left the club at the end of the season.

But Martin said he was always happy to take the challenge on himself.

He said: “Danny left on good terms and we still speak almost every day. I believe we’ll work together again at some point. It’s been a seamless transition because the existing staff took on new roles, and even though player turnover took a natural course given that a lot of those who left were players we knew would move on anyway.

"The age of the squad played a part, the commitments needed for step three and also player ambition. Some had hit their ceiling, some were drawn to better offers financially, and for others it was more logistically convenient to do less travelling.

"But if you want to play at this level, you have to understand the commitment that comes with it. A good foundation of six or seven players stayed on, people that knew me and how I work which is good.

"Financially, we can’t even compete with some step five clubs, and the chairman said early on that if anyone we’re talking to starts the conversation with ‘how much money can you offer?’, then they’re not for us.

"We’ve got great people around this club and pride ourselves on that. If you don’t fit, you don’t stay.

"There’s no fear here, only optimism, and we’ve shown some really good signs so far.”