New Dereham Town managers Adam Gusterson and Olly Willis are preparing for another tough challenge after enduring a baptism of fire against Heybridge Swifts at the weekend.

The first match of a new era at Aldiss Park saw the Magpies beaten 3-1 by Julian Dicks' promotion-chasing outfit, despite taking the lead and going on to give a decent account of themselves.

'Last weekend gave us the impression we are at a proper football club with everybody pulling in the same direction and for us to be successful on the pitch and get out of the relegation places this has to continue,' said Gusterson.

'It was an absolute honour for us to be asked to come and manage a club so close to our hearts and as I've touched on we can't thank everyone enough for the warm welcome and support we have received.

'With this said, we are not stupid and realise that results are what we ultimately need to start getting. When taking the job on we knew that we had a tough first three league games but as I said last week I want us to have a plan of how we are going to achieve results and be competitive in each and every game we play – I felt we were this last week, holding a half-time advantage which could have possibly been 2-0.

'The performance and application from the lads has given us a really solid platform from which to build and we hope to continue that.'

The result left Dereham four points adrift at the foot of the table - and it doesn't get any easier today, with third-placed Aveley the visitors.

There is then a brief break from league action, with a trip to Diss Town in the Norfolk Senior Cup quarter-finals coming up next Tuesday evening, before a return to reality with a visit to fifth-placed Coggeshall on Saturday week.

The new management team have strengthened their squad with the signing of two experienced defenders. Matt Castellan has re-joined from King's Lynn Town and Shaun Wones from Norwich CBS. Jay Eastoe-Smith made his first start of the season last week and produced a man of the match performance, while Rhys Logan came on for the last 30 minutes.

The club will once again offer fans half price admission.