Hampton & Richmond Borough boss Alan Devonshire has hailed the spine of his team as key to his side’s chances of success this term.

Skipper Dean Wells delivered a man of the match display as the Beavers ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at Bishops Stortford on Saturday to move ninth in the Blue Square South table.

Budget cuts meant Devonshire was forced to overhaul his playing resources last term and in the summer, but he managed to keep hold of Station Road stalwarts Wells, Matt Lovett, Ian Hodges, Barrie Matthews & Lawrence Yaku.

And the Beveree chief insists the move has paid off with a solid start to the campaign this term, with the form of his captain a particular highlight.

“Dean is a good player and has done great for more over the years,” he said.

“Being able to keep him Matty, Barrie Matthews, Yaks and Hodgey has meant we have kept the spine of the team.

“That has been very important this season with all the younger players coming in and we are having some success.

Devonshire had promised one or two changes against Stortford and the return of Yaku and Hodges to the starting line-up ultimately made the difference.

Yaku opened the scoring early with Matthews adding a second from the penalty spot before half-time to the delight of his manager.

“We got on the scoresheet early and then we were comfortable,” he added.

“I think the only save our keeper had to made was in the 89th minute and we defended very well as a group.”

Hampton travel to Romford in the FA Cup second qualifying round on Saturday, but Devonshire insists his eyes are not on the potential rewards on offer.

“Every club at this level is struggling in the financial climate, but you think about the money side of things afterwards,” he said.

“Every player wants to get to the first round proper, but we can’t put too much pressure on ourselves.

“It is a decent draw for us, but it could be a shock result if we don’t concentrate.”

Hampton’s next three games: Sept 25 Romford (FAC, a) Oct 2, Dover Athletic (h), 9 FA Cup third qualifying round (tbc).