CHIPPENHAM Town manager Gary Horgan is choosing to look on the bright side after his Bluebirds squad kept consecutive clean sheets in the past two games to maintain a goalless and winless start to the campaign.

Beginning with a 0-0 draw away at Worthing on Saturday, the Bluebirds returned to action after Pablo Martinez’s cardiac arrest with an encouraging display and the better of the chances in Sussex.

But they would have to settle for a point, and this was the case in the rearranged National League South contest at home to Chelmsford City on Tuesday night.

Reflecting on claiming two points from two games since losing Martinez for a considerable number of months, Horgan said: “The good news is consecutive clean sheets, and we’ve now played three of the division’s top four.

“I had to re-shuffle the backline a little bit in the absence of Pablo (Martinez), but the lads did really well in both games.

“The Worthing game was quite normal for us – in terms of being without Pablo – because we’d already done our processing in training.

“We all met up on Tuesday, and everyone had been to see Pablo by then, so we’d already had the good news about his recovery.

“As impactful as it was to us as a squad, we can now move on to the next phase, and that’s his recovery and hopefully continuing to play football.”

Two points from three games is not the start Chippenham would have wanted following a superb end to the last campaign, with the main problem for Horgan’s men so far being finding the net.

But the Bluebirds boss is optimistic his players will make the breakthrough soon, hopefully helped by a handful of injured absentees returning to the fold in the coming days and weeks.

Horgan said: “On Saturday against Worthing, we probably had the better chances in the game.

“And then on Tuesday night, chances were few and far between, but we probably had the two best chances of the game.

“We want to win football matches, but there is another team trying to stop us doing that. We’re in a tough league, and we’re in the middle of a tough schedule as well with seven games in 21 days.

“But given the problems that we’ve had to adapt to recently, I think it’s two really good points over the last week.

“Once we get into the swing of things with some of our players back, I’m sure the goals will come as well.”

Chippenham welcome local rivals Hungerford Town to the Thornbury Surfacing Stadium on Saturday for a 3pm kick-off in National League South.