Romford boss Kris Newby says the performances of his new-look squad have been key to the club’s promising start to their Essex Senior League campaign.

The former Boro midfielder, who captained his side to FA Vase glory at a sun-kissed Wembley Stadium in May, warned such high squad turnover could have been an issue, but seven points from their opening three matches have proved otherwise.

“Me and Lee (Benson) set out at the start of the season that after the first five games our target was ten points,” said Newby.

“We’re only three off that with two games to go. We put Stanway Rovers down as the toughest game out of that first five, to be honest, because of the squad they’ve tried to build.

“We did a job on them and beat them 4-1, so that set us up nicely. I’m more than happy with it but slightly disappointed, of course, with the result in the FA Cup.”

After bowing out in the preliminary round at Brightlingsea Regent, Newby revealed Sheri Artmeladze had signed for Walthamstow, but the loss of such a key player has not deterred the Boro boss.

“He’s left us now. He’s signed for Walthamstow. They put a seven-day approach in, which gave us seven days to prepare him for the talks that they were going to have with him and see if we could make him a better offer,” said Newby.

“Unfortunately, we’re not financially in a position to do that. They more than doubled his wages, and he left.

“We’ve brought in Ken Feyi, a centre forward with a lot of non-league experience and has played at a high level. So, we’ve filled that void that Sheri left. We’re just adapting to the way we now want to play with different players. We’re just having to find ourselves out.”

Having led the team last season as skipper, Newby admitted the switch from playing to management has not been as smooth as he expected, with an entirely new squad paired with the temptation to get involved in training sessions becoming more appealing by the week.

“To be honest, I’m finding it quite difficult. I’m still finding myself kicking every ball on the sideline and going in for tackles,” he Newby.

“I’m slowly adjusting to it. We’ve got a completely new side to what we had last year. I’ve got one lad left from last season, and that’s Toheeb (Elegushi). It’s something I’ve always wanted to go into, management. At the moment, the transition is not as smooth as what I thought it would be.

“I thought I wouldn’t miss playing, but unfortunately, I do. I find myself joining in with them in training and stuff like that. It’s a completely different ball game for me, but it’s one I’m looking forward to and relishing the challenge of.

"I’m learning every day in the job, so it’s exciting at the moment because we are unbeaten in the league.

“When we do lose, which inevitably we will, it’s just how I deal with that because I hated losing as a player. So, I don’t look forward to doing it as a manager, to be honest.”

Romford will look to continue their bright start to their campaign as they visit Takeley on Saturday (3pm) before travelling east to face Hullbridge Sports on Tuesday (7.45pm).