The holiday is well and truly over for St Neots Town boss Andy Davies as he begins the hard work of putting the club’s season back on track.

The Saints chief hit national headlines following a dream jaunt to Jamaica which was booked long before he became permanent boss of the Premier Plus Stadium club.

His sudden launch into the limelight had as much to do with the dismal form of his players in his absence, as the Caribbean break itself, with Saints crashing out of the FA Cup to lower-level opponents and suffering two heavy home defeats in the Southern League Premier Division.

Throw in the exit of coach Jason Dale after only a few weeks with the club and it added up to a torrid fortnight for a St Neots side, who will bid to get back on track during two tough trips in the space of three days.

Davies takes his men to Dorchester this Saturday (3pm) before a Monday visit to Hitchin (7.45pm) swiftly follows with the need for points great.

He said: “The full responsibility for our recent results rests with me even though I was away. The desire and commitment of the players should be the same regardless of whether I am here or not.

“I had a frank and open meeting with my staff and players last Saturday. A lot of thoughts were aired and some issues were addressed.

“We then trained for two hours and worked on the things I feel will help us get back to winning games of football.

“I hold the UEFA A licence and UEFA coaching diploma myself so I will now oversee all aspects of our training and preparation.

“I still believe in this group of players and it is vitally important we start to get back on track.

“I’ve never won at Dorchester or Hitchin as a manager, and I would love to put those things right.”

St Neots will be without central defender Taylor Parr for both games as he continues to serve a five-game suspension picked up following red cards in successive matches recently.

Davies has boosted his defensive options with a move for central defender Charlie Ward.

He is the brother of Saints skipper Tom Ward and has arrived from United Counties League Premier Division side Sleaford, where their father is the manager!

It is a two-level leap for the newest sibling but he is likely to be pitched straight into action with Taylor Parr serving a five-match suspension for two recent red cards.

Saints have also slapped in a seven-day approach for striker Avelino Vieira, who plays for another UCL outfit - Peterborough Sports.

Davies watched the Portuguese forward, who has previously been with St Ives Town and Corby Town, in action last Saturday and liked what he saw.

Davies added: “There is no doubt we needed to boost our defensive options and I’m pleased to get Charlie on board.

“He knows all about the club through his brother and he has been playing very well at Step 5 by all accounts.

“As we showed in the summer, we are never afraid to give a player an opportunity to step up in the game.

“We’ve also made an apparoach for Avelino. He is someone I have heard good things about and did well in a game I watched last weekend when I actually went there to have a look at another player.

“I’m not sure if we will be able to entice him away from a successful club in Peterborough Sports, but we’ll see what happens.”