THERE'S an air of confidence now about Sidmouth Town who are blossoming under new manager Paul Ashford.

THERE'S an air of confidence now about Sidmouth Town who are blossoming under new manager Paul Ashford. They handed out a 6-0 drubbing to bottom of the table Cullompton on Saturday, have two big games to look forward to this weekend - Hatherleigh on Saturday and Feniton in the Morrison Bell Cup on Sunday - and have put in seven day's notice of approach for Sidbury's talented youngster Ben Clay. "I have a squad to pick from now and players are starting to come and find me," Ashford said. "If we can bring players on and then send them off to a higher level of football then I will have done my job. Ben has been doing well at Sidbury but could be playing at a higher level and hopefully he will fit into the jigsaw puzzle that every manager faces each week. If we can be a stepping stone to something better, then I will be happy." Sidmouth really weren't stretched against Cullompton and played some good football, especially in the second half. Goals were scored by Billy Jaworski, Ben Ashford - back from college - Andy Thompson, Jordan Cooper, Chris Duchenski and an own goal. Duchenski is the new club captain and the side are itching to get some more games under their belt. Sidmouth Reserves' manager Rob Fowler - who according to Ashford has a thankless task - was frustrated and disappointed after his side threw away a 2-0 home lead against Lympstone and lost 3-2. He said: "We played 3-5-2 which some people don't like at the club but it worked. We were 2-0 up at half time with goals from Simon Hudson and Craig Badcock." The team were playing really well and the half time team talk focused on concentration, commitment, working the channels and shutting players down. Fowler added: "We told them to keep working hard and not to let any of their players have time on the ball. But after the restart the work rate dropped and when James Beverley got their first goal, they had a sniff of success." To be fair the shape of the team was changed when the injured Dan Broom came off along with the other wide out player Ryan Sellick, but Lympstone had their tails up when they levelled and scored the winner with about three minutes left on the clock. "We just can't afford to throw away a winning position," Fowler added. He also wanted to thank Iain Burns for the photographs he has taken recently for the club.