Yeovil Town 2, Aldershot Town 2

FORMER Prime Minister Harold Wilson once famously said “a week’s a long time in politics”.

Well, the same applies to football and no-one knows that better than Aldershot Town boss Danny Searle.

Just seven days ago, the Shots boss, players and fans alike were licking their wounds after a demoralising 6-1 spanking at Dagenham & Redbridge left the club in disarray and left Searle himself “embarrassed” and “humiliated”.

Wind the clock on one week and everything looks a good deal rosier in the garden after a galvanising 2-1 win at the EBB Stadium against Notts County on Saturday and a pretty significant point from a 2-2 draw against a decent Yeovil Town side at Huish Park on Tuesday night.

Searle couldn’t have asked for much more in the past week from his players, who were asked serious questions after their defeat in east London but who have given an emphatic answer.

“I was made up after the win against Notts County,” said Searle, “but I was more made up for the boys because I don’t think with the way they do apply themselves that they deserved what they got at Dagenham. Obviously the way they performed they did and sometimes you need that rude awakening to see that it’s not all rosy in the garden and the bottom line is that we are in the bottom half of the table and we have got to be at it all the time.

“From my perspective, I wanted to see a reaction and I got one, and hopefully they can sustain and maintain that and we can kick on.”

As to whether the nature of the defeat at Dagenham on assistant boss Anwar Uddin’s emotional return will prove to be a defining moment in Aldershot’s season in light of the points gained from Notts County and Yeovil, Searle said: “Time will tell. We couldn’t get too low after the Dagenham game, we can’t get too high now, we still haven’t done anything. We’ve put two good performances together and we’ve got a lot more to come. We might look back in three months time and say it was the best thing that happened to us, or it might be the worst.

“We’ve always been good in the dressing room, around the training ground, and our attitudes have always been spot on, but I think what it’s done is intensified it even more. Everyone has stepped up, everyone is working harder, it’s been a great reaction from the boys and the staff.”

Goals from Mo Bettamer and Alfy Whittingham were enough to seal an emotional three points against Notts County in front of a healthy crowd of 2,211 at the EBB Stadium on Saturday, while an Ethan Chislett penalty and a second from Jack Powell secured a point at quirky Huish Park.

And the Shots will be looking to take their new-found momentum into Saturday’s home game against Chesterfield, who beat Aldershot 2-1 in September at the Proact Stadium.

“To a certain degree we do owe them one because we were really good at Chesterfield and to come away with nothing was really disappointing because we created 24-25 chances, including the penalty that we missed, but it doesn’t matter who we play on Saturday we have to build on what we have done in the last two games,” said Searle.

A win would move the Shots seven points ahead of Chesterfield and put a little daylight between themselves and the bottom four.

“We want to get to a point where we’re not looking over our shoulder and we can start to look up a little bit. We’ve got to earn the right to do that and if they keep working as hard as they are I am confident that we can do that.”

*The Shots have been drawn away to Torquay United in the first round of the FA Trophy. The game will be played at Plainmoor on December 14.