Written By: Muhammad Yazid

Only five clubs remain undefeated in the Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League 2014 campaign prior to the start of week 3 of matches, and Woodlands Wellington are among those teams.

Barely three months into his job, Woodlands coach Darren Stewart was delighted at the start his side have made so far, despite only managing draws against Hougang United and Balestier Khalsa so far.

Stewart’s sentiments stemmed from the belief that his team’s preparation for the new campaign were not ideal, yet his side have managed to navigate past both tricky fixtures with aplomb.

“Leave aside the fact that we haven’t won any games in the league so far, though there isn’t any excuse for that. It’s a fact; we had a disrupted pre-season and many players didn’t even play in the pre-season games,” Stewart said.

“But I am very satisfied because on the positive side, we are unbeaten and apart from that, we have made comebacks in both games and the character is with my players. We had a tough game against Hougang but we had the character which awarded us a point.

“It’s definitely a good way to start off the season with this couple of games. It’s a long season ahead and the club doesn’t expect the team to reach the peak in the first two games”, the former Australian international added.

The gaffer was also pleased with the way his new boys were adapting to his style of play.

“They are a terrific bunch of lads who can quickly adapt to my style and I should feel pretty lucky to have come to a new team like this. Their attitude and mentality is a pleasant surprise for me,” the 2013 League Cup winning coach said.

“Whether or not we get the results, I am looking for the commitment and effort. So far everything is falling into place.”

In this short two-week break, Stewart has been putting his boys through their paces to prepare for their next game against Courts Young Lions this Thursday.

“Training has been pretty hard the last couple of days and since game day is approaching, we’re going a little easy now because there are a lot of heavy legs.

“Yes I’m looking forward to the game and I expect my charges to step onto the pitch with the same attitude and commitment. For now the three points isn’t important, but the character is. I am confident of a brilliant effort,” commented the ex-Johor FA player.