VICS boss Andy Preece has been pleasantly surprised how quickly the club has turned its fortunes around.

In the summer, the picture looked bleak, with financial difficulties and a transfer ban hanging over their heads.

When the season got underway, matters did not improve much either, as Vics suffered two defeats in their first five games, including a 5-1 reversal against Droylsden.

Now, it could not be more different.

Vics have gone nine games unbeaten in all competitions, eight of them victories, and were it not for their 10-point deduction, would be sixth in Blue Square North with games in hand on all those above them.

There is also the small matter of an FA Cup First Round tie against League One Charlton on the horizon and Preece is delighted by the turnaround.

He said: "You always hope you can turn things around quickly and you have to have confidence in your ability.

"But it has happened really quickly here and I'm delighted we've managed to do that.

"I just can't say how happy I am for the chairman, the fans and all the people working at the club to put things right."

Although the cup tie on November 8 looms large, Preece knows his side must concentrate on Saturday's league trip to Stafford Rangers.

Vics' boss is aiming to overcome the points deduction and push his side into play-off contention by Christmas.

And with the FA Cup taking his side away from league action, he says his team must exploit every current opportunity to pick up points.

He added: "If by halfway we can be somewhere in touch with the play offs, maybe six points off the play-off places, we can kick on from there and challenge for promotion.

"We need to pick up as many points as we can so that we don't fall behind our rivals too much."