When you get crowds at that level, I suppose they expect good football. We just need to build on that constantly, and we will do on the playing side of it

- Jon Macken

Radcliffe Manager Jon Macken has admitted the entire club now has a winning mentality after moving a point behind top of the table Atherton Collieries.

The Boro grinded out a 1-0 victory against promotion rivals Runcorn Linnets, after a first-half header from Callum Grogan spearheaded an impressive defensive display.

It highlights the contrast compared to this stage last season, where the Neuven-outfit sat 20th, and the Blues’ gaffer said the environment surrounding the club has improved since his and Frank Sinclair’s arrival.

“We’ve tried to change the mentality. We tried to do it when we (Macken and Sinclair) first came in,” said Macken, speaking to RadcliffeTV. “It was a hard task the year before because of where we were in the league, having to fight all the time, plus it was difficult to bring players in.

“But, I think we’ve brought good players in now, with some big characters as well. We’ve now changed the mentality of the club, and now it’s becoming a winning environment, and we’ve seen the big crowd.

“It was massive, and it was a fantastic experience. When you get crowds at that level, I suppose they expect good football. We just need to build on that constantly, and we will do on the playing side of it.”

Keep Beliving- Watch our pitch cam from Saturday
Watch: Jon Macken's Interview from Saturday

Grogan, the match-winner, produced a Man of the Match display as Boro showed a solid performance across the back-four.

It was a vital win in the race for promotion according to Macken, and he praised the strength in depth throughout his squad after a dogged second-half display.

He said: “It’s a massive result for the promotion run-in. It’s just another three points, another game ticked off. The games are getting less and less, we’re just going into every game preparing solely for that game, give them the instructions and then hopefully the lads will carrying that out and we’ll get the points.

“Although I don’t think we were at our best, I think sometimes you’ve got to work, you need to grind things, and do the dirty side of it, and we did that today. We still did create a lot of chances.

“I just think the defence showed the strength in depth. Callum (Grogan) was magnificent today. He really stood up and shown what a player he is, and what a leader he is as well, he made a fantastic clearance at the end – and what a header for the goal. So, you look at that and think ‘you’re pleased with that’, and at the end of the day, that’s the level of performance that they have set themselves.”