DELIGHTED FC Clacton boss David Coyle says his side have exceeded all expectations – even his own – this season.

The Seasiders secured a tenth-place finish in the Thurlow Nunn League premier division, following Saturday’s 4-0 success at home to Gorleston.

It meant they ended with back-to-back home wins and two clean sheets.

And it meant they eclipsed Clacton’s previous highest-ever finishing position of 15th.

“This season has exceeded my expectations,” said Coyle.

“I thought we’d do alright and I thought we’d stay up comfortably.

“But my target was always 14th. I knew that would be our highest-ever finish.

“If we got there, I thought we’d have done well so to finish four places above that – and ahead of some very good teams at this level – is fantastic.

“Pound for pound, I honestly don’t think there’s another team that can compete with us and I mean that in terms of budget and value for money.

“Most of the teams above will have spent a lot of money and I know there are teams below doing the same.

“That shows how well the boys have done. They've been brilliant.

“We’re relegation contenders every year and have been for ten years, yet we were safe with seven games to go.

“I don’t think anyone expected it and the boys can’t be faulted.

“There will be a lot of people surprised by the final table – particularly people from outside - and rightly so.

“But they don’t know what I know.

“I don’t mean I’m the fountain of all knowledge, but they don’t know what my players are like or how hard they work or how hard they train. I do and all credit to them.”

Coyle admitted his side lacked intensity at times during Saturday’s victory.

However, he was delighted to bow out on a high note, thanks to two goals apiece from Karl Andrade and Aaron Condon.

The win came just four days after the Seasiders had seen off Thetford at the Rush Green Bowl, 3-0.

“There were lots of positives – three points, four goals and another clean sheet,” said the Clacton boss.

“I can’t be disappointed, but it did have an end-of-season feel about it.

“I didn’t think we were as energetic as we’d been on Tuesday night.

“We didn’t play with the same intensity and against a better side, we might have been punished for some of those periods when we dropped off.

“I can’t criticise the boys, though.

“They won the game and we’ve just secured a top-ten finish.

“We were predicted to finish bottom by a league expert who run the rule over the league and thought we’d really struggle.

“That shows how we were perceived by the outside world at the start of the season, so to finish ten places higher than that shows the size of the achievement.

“I’m really pleased and proud of where we finished and it’s a reflection of our whole season.

“It’s not about one good game or one bad game.

“It’s always good to finish with a couple of wins and it stays in people’s minds.

“Our players will go away now forgetting that we’ve lost five of the last seven – they’ll just concentrate on the fact we won two of our last two.

“That will keep them in good spirits, knowing we’ve ended on a high.”