Helen Bleazard with the Bournemouth squad

AFC Bournemouth have enjoyed a sensational start to the season in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier – winning six on the bounce to put them at the top of the table.

It might not have been predicted by many two months ago as long-serving head coach Steve Cull stepped down, leaving former player Helen Bleazard with the chance to take over as interim boss.

She did that with aplomb, settling into the role in such style that she was appointed permanently last month – and she picked up the manager of the month award for August.

“I’ve got to give it to the players, because I wouldn’t get the award if they hadn’t have done everything that we had set out as a team and as a staff to try and implement the game plan of what we wanted to do,” she told journalists on Tuesday.

“It’s not only for me. I’ve come in, but the players have had a massive adjustment over pre-season and they took to it like a duck to water, which was great. and the performances really spoke for themselves. So I can’t take full credit for that....