Winning friends isn’t high on Braintree Town manager Robbie Garvey’s list of things to do this year.

Being a popular figure at Cressing Road doesn’t interest the Iron’s boss, however, it is a different matter when it comes to winning football matches.

Garvey said he has heard that some fans have been aggreived that a few established players have left the Iron this summer, but he is busy building a squad of ‘young and hungry’ players and thinks people will be pleasantly surprised when they come to games next season.

He said: “I don’t look at websites and messageboards but I have heard that some fans have been umming and ahhing about what I’m doing.

“Some of their favourites have left. But at the start of the season they can come and I think they will be pleasantly suprised as we will have players here who are young and hungry with pace and ambition, who want to play at a higher level and use us to step up.

“If I win people over or not, that isn’t my job.

“I’m not here to be popular, my job is to get the club up as far as possible.

“Whether that makes me popular or not, I don’t know, but I hope people will come here and like what they see.

“We won’t just have youngsters, we will mix in experience as well.

“I want to see a proper blend with pace, which I did not think the team had last year and a work ethic and people will see that.

“I’m here to do the best job for Braintree Town.

“I will give fans a chance to have their say as I want to arrange a fans forum pre-season when people can come along and ask sensible questions and if there are any silly ones then they won’t get answered.”