Ball already has one eye on next season

The Jammers’ stunning form continued with a 4-0 success at home to neighbours Heybridge Swifts on Tuesday night.

Tarik Moore-Azille, Sam Newson, Rhys Henry and Adam Mills were on target in a one-sided Ryman League division north derby at Park Drive.

And while his side’s charge in recent weeks has come too late to make this season’s play-offs, Ball is determined to get the club promoted next year.

“We’ve got real quality and if we can keep playing at that level, we’ll stand a great chance of being in the mix,” said the Jammers boss.

“We’ve had personal successes, like Femi Akinwande getting in Colchester’s first team and Ben Wyatt being offered a deal at the U’s.

“But from a club perspective, we need to get up the leagues.

“Otherwise the project won’t really work, because the intention is to get Colchester’s first team boys on loan at Maldon.

“However, they can’t come down to this level.

“It bodes well but we can’t keep talking about it. We have to get out of the league next year.

“That’s what [U’s chairman] Robbie Cowling and [Maldon counterpart] Ed Garty want, so the pressure’s on me.

“We’ve got a really good budget for this league, which has been well-documented, and with the budget I’ll have next year we should get out of the league.

“We have to make a good start, get in that top six early and then stay there. That’s the plan.”

In addition to the obvious quality on display against Swifts, Ball was also delighted with the way his players started.

“I wanted to make the game what our fans would want,” said the Jammers boss.

"It was a derby and I was really intent on the boys starting sharp, which they managed to do."

“This club has good pacey, attacking players that can play at a high level.

“Where we’ve fallen down a bit this year is on the defensive side and not wrapping up games when we’ve had the chance.

“It was unfortunate the way we started but that was about getting to know each other a bit.

“There wasn’t much of a team bond, in terms of togetherness and unity.

“The club didn’t have that. It had individuals that were part of a project, who were playing for themselves.

“What I’ve been trying really hard to do – and (former boss) David (Wright) was trying really hard too – is to get that togetherness. There’s a real sense of team-work now, as we showed on Tuesday.

“I’m enjoying it. There’s a positivity about the place because there’s lots going on.”