THE team spirit at Worcester City is excellent and there is a togetherness within our squad.

The easiest way to build squad morale is to win games but the players are all mates and get on well, which helps.

As much as I have great memories of dressing room banter over the years, the current situation is as good as I have experienced in my career.

It has also shown me how the relationships between younger and older players have changed.

Although there is a respect among the squad, the teenagers are not fazed in airing their views to the likes of Marc McGregor, Neil Cartwright or Graham Ward.

When I was playing, the youngsters kept their opinions to themselves.

There are positives and negatives to that but it allows the younger players to develop quicker.

Throughout the 1990s, the younger members of the squad were told what to do by the older, more senior players and it was never questioned.

That’s not the case any more, the younger lads are just as opinionated as the experienced players.

I can’t put a finger on why that is but I speak to a lot of managers and they say the same sort of things.

There’s nothing wrong with it but it’s strange how a generation has changed to be more confident in themselves.

Something else that has changed over the years is major superstitions before matches.

I remember our old physio Archie Richards used to come into the changing room, strip off all his clothes and stand in front of the mirror in his socks and shoes combing his hair.

That sort of thing doesn’t happen now, the most you get is some players wearing the same pair of underpants.

Talking of clothing, that is another area which has evolved among footballers since I was a player.

The lads all had a night out last Saturday, as they do periodically through the season, and the first thing that struck me was the variation in clothes. It went from Tom Evans turning out in a black and white checkered shirt with black dickie bow to physio Steve Ball in a pair of jeans and trainers.

He clearly wasn’t going to get into any clubs!

When I was in my early 20s there would be about 18 of us all in a pair of black trousers and a white or blue shirt.

Some of the braver ones may have opted for a pink shirt but that was it. But, on a more serious note, such nights go to highlight the squad spirit we have at Worcester.

There is also a lot of quality and Marc McGregor paid us a huge compliment in that respect recently.

Marc said he had seen more ability in this group of players than at any point in his career — and this is someone who has played in outstanding teams.

That said, I still want to bring extra quality into the squad but it’s about doing that without reducing the numbers dramatically as we strive for consistency.