Buxton boss Gary Hayward aiming for safety

He has been encouraged by his side’s performances so far and is hoping the holiday fixtures will bring his first win in charge.

“We’re third from bottom, so to start with I need to get us safe as quickly as possible,” he said.

“We need to get to mid-table and then we can start building for next season. We have a good chairman [Dave Hopkins] so we could have a promotion push next year.”

Buxton’s big Boxing Day derby game is at 15th-placed Matlock Town followed by the visit of tenth-placed Hyde United to the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium on New Year’s Day.

“We have a good spirit and should have won both the Lancaster and Nantwich games,” said Hayward.

“So to get a win over Christmas is what we’re aiming to do.”

Buxton drew with both Lancaster City, who are second in the BetVictor NPL Premier Division and Nantwich Town, who are ninth.

And he has already been busy recruiting to strengthen the current Bucks squad.

“I’ve had to hit the ground running and then get organised to get things going in the right direction,” he said.

But Hayward feels his first few weeks at the club have been better than expected.

“The lads have taken good instructions and done what I’ve asked them,” he added.

“They’ve worked hard on the training ground, worked on some set pieces and taken them on board very well.

"There’s a buzz around the club and I can see the camaraderie of the lads. If they take that on to the pitch it gives them a helping hand.”

While Hayward has inherited a lot of the players on contract, he is looking forward to being in a position to hand-pick a few more next season and then have a go for promotion in the 2020/21 campaign.

“I think the town deserves it,” he added.

“The chairman is not shy of putting money into club, he works hard for it and it would be good to try and pay him back.”