MARK Collier insisted encouraging, rather than inspirational, words helped Chippenham Town turn an off-colour first half into a rousing Calor League Southern Premier Division victory over Truro City last night.

Recent signing Rob Dean opened the scoring on his home debut before striker Alan Griffin produced two quality finishes to maintain Collier's unbeaten league start as Bluebirds boss, despite Cody Cooke's late reply at Hardenhuish Park.

Town jumped up to 13th position with the victory and, incredibly given the trials and tribulations of this season, are now just eight points off a play-off place.

The home side looked below par in a scrappy first 45 minutes that City largely had the better of, but the three goals in eight second-half minutes wrapped up the points as Town were much improved after the break.

"We didn't play particularly well in the first half, we didn't keep the ball well which was disappointing considering that's what we have done well in the previous two matches,'' Collier told the Gazette & Herald.

"We said we need to take a bit more care with the ball, trust each other a bit more and have a bit more belief. There was no need to panic about anything.

"I thought we may have seen the best of Truro in the first half because they played particularly well. We defended in numbers, got our blocks in and (Matt) Bulman has made a couple of good saves and we stayed in the game.''

The improvement in the Bluebirds' mental strength - they came from 3-1 down to earn a point at Biggleswade on Saturday - has been one of the major plusses of the embryonic days of Collier's reign.

"In the past we could have been out of the game and gone after a first half like that, but we had that resolve and then in the second half we were a different side,'' added the manager.

"We played with a bit more purposes, had our desire to get our passes and crosses in and we got our rewards for it.''

MORE FROM COLLIER, CHAIRMAN NEIL BLACKMORE AND GOALSCORER ROB DEAN IN THURSDAY'S GAZETTE & HERALD