McAvoy breathes a sigh of relief

"Exciting's one word for it," said Newbury Blues head coach James McAvoy following his side's narrow win over rivals Swindon.

"We were well prepared for Swindon and they did exactly what we expected them to, so we were a bit disappointed to have conceded nearly 30 points.

"On the other hand Swindon beat Witney and put 40 points past Devizes and they're really good at what they do, we knew it would be tough.

"I think we were just about always in control of the game and we've ended up with another bonus point win on the road but I don't mind admitting we were a bit nervous at the end."

McAvoy once again had a succession of injuries to deal with and provided an update on Oli Rhoades, who missed out on his debut after he was involved in a car crash on Friday.

"Oli's keeping us waiting for his debut," McAvoy said.

"We're delighted he's on the mend and he came along to watch on Saturday, which gave all the lads a boost.

"We've got really good squad depth and some of the more settled players like Michael Klichowicz, Kris Ford, Harry Waye-Branch and Josh Winfield have been brilliant."

McAvoy's men won all three of their games in January and are set to embark on a challenging February, including the visit of unbeaten league leaders Marlborough, their annual charity Pink Day at home to Witney and their much-anticipated double header with Reading, which will see both Blues and Stags do battle at Monks Lane.

McAvoy said: "We're looking forward to a massive month ahead, we've improved so much as the season's gone on so we'll relish the challenge."