Second season syndrome is an oft-used phrase in football and it’s not something that you want associated with your club.

It means there has been a significant downturn in your team’s fortunes after a steady, or in some cases encouraging first 12 months, and at the very top end of the game that usually means unrest, disappointment and the manager losing his job – just ask Marco Silva or Unai Emery.

Closer to home it could be said that Tewkesbury Athletic are experiencing second season syndrome although happily for them it’s something they are enjoying in reverse.

That’s because the club, who were formed only at the start of the 2018/19 season, are flying high in Division Four of the Cheltenham League after what was a pretty difficult initial campaign.

“We didn’t win our first game until after Christmas,” said assistant manager Michael Holtham, reflecting on that first season. “We finished second from bottom on 14 points.”

In contrast they’d gone past that points tally after just five games this time around and they did it in style because they’ve been banging in the goals left, right and centre.

So what has sparked the remarkable turnaround?

“We’ve brought in a couple of experienced players, they’ve made a difference,” said Holtham, who is assistant manager to Joe Powell.

“The main thing about last season was that a lot of the lads weren’t used to playing 11-a-side. They’d been playing five-a-side and six-a-side on Monday nights so although they threw themselves together with plenty of ambition they weren’t quite ready for the step up.

“Now they’ve got a season’s experience it’s all going really well. We started to play much better in the second half of last season although the results didn’t always show that.

“We’ve got a proper squad and most weeks we’re choosing 16 from 21 or 22 players. Everybody gets on well and everyone is getting a regular 90 minutes.

“Mark Hawtin, Tom Neath and Brandon Sprason have added the creativity we were lacking last season, alongside defensive players Brandon Tiller, Tom Wharton and Jon Curtis who give us a solid platform to build on.”

So what are the aims for the club going forward?

“The aim at the start of the season was promotion,” continued Holtham. “We wanted to aim high but after our start to the season we reassessed and now we want to win the division.”

And that’s not all because Holtham said that in the medium term the plan is to climb up the league while also possibly fielding a second team.

“The nucleus of the team is in their mid-20s,” said Holtham. “We’ve also got players in their late teens and early 20s who are likely to be around for a long time so we are ambitious.”

Tewkesbury-born and bred Holtham is not one of those 20-somethings, however, and at the age of 44 he thinks this may well be his last season as a player.

In the past he’s played for Tewkesbury Town and Northway but last season was his first full campaign since the start of the noughties. So how did he get back involved?

“It was through my nephew Nathan Oliver,” he said. “It was just before their first game of the season and he rang me up to say they hadn’t got a ref. By the time I’d got there they’d found one so I ran the line for them instead.

“They got beaten 12-0 so I said I’d see them at their next training session, I only expected to be there a month!”

Fast forward some 18 months and Holtham has become a key part of the team.

“I played week in, week out last season but I’m not playing quite as much this season,” he said. “I really enjoy it, they’re a great bunch of lads.

“I’m a left-back these days, I’ve moved my way backwards. I started off up front but over the years I’ve gone back as I’ve got slower.”

Holtham, who also managed the reserves at both Tewkesbury Town and Northway back in the day, stopped playing football regularly at the age of 26 – “I went back to help out a couple of teams,” he said – but plans to remain involved with Tewkesbury Athletic even if he does hang up his boots at the end of the campaign.