Dave Cannon has made an encouraging start as Framlingham Town manager after taking over at the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North club earlier this month.

The former AFC Sudbury Academy coach has overseen two wins and a draw from his first three games, with the Castlemen following up a 1-0 home victory over Wroxham Reserves with a 4-0 success away to Sudbury Reserves.

They then salvaged a point at Diss Town on Tuesday night, with Max Willett scoring five minutes from time to secure a 1-1 draw.

Cannon replaced Liam Abraham, who was dismissed following a disappointing start to the season, and is already looking to make Framlingham more difficult to beat after a spell in which they had struggled defensively.

He has brought in centre-back Brad Byrne and midfielder Tristan Yule, both of whom he worked with during his time at Sudbury.

“We’d lost some defenders before I came in and were conceding more than we were scoring,” said Cannon.

“We’ve worked structurally as a whole team to make us more difficult to play against, and we’ve shored things up defensively.

“Bradley is a huge signing for us. Physically, he’s very good, and he’s also very vocal. Bringing him in allows me to move Johnny Kerridge into a more advanced position.”

Cannon was particularly pleased with the performance against Wroxham, when Framlingham kept a clean sheet.

“We started with two wins and, more importantly, two clean sheets. It was as good a start as we could have hoped for,” he said.

“I was really pleased with how they played against Wroxham, with a few of the players putting their bodies on the line to ensure we picked up a clean sheet.”

The new manager believes building a strong team spirit is key to improving results and says the existing squad has responded positively to his appointment.

“I’m not a stranger to a lot of the players, and the rest of the boys have responded really positively,” he said.

Cannon also has a personal connection with the club. His son plays for Framlingham's Under-16s, his children go to school in the town, and he has known the club's vice-chairman for 25 years.

“I had other offers in the past two years, but this club ticked a lot of boxes for me,” he said. “I can also see the lights at the club from my house.”

He is not ruling out further additions to the squad, but insists any new arrivals must fit into his longer-term plans.

“It would need to be the right player and a player who would be here for next season and the season after,” he said.

“If they come along and they’re the right fit, then we’ll move forward.”

For the remainder of the current campaign, Cannon is targeting a top-half finish before looking to push on next season.

“I think we'll be happy with the top 10 and then go from there,” he added.

“If you look at the league table now, there’s a lot of teams beating each other, and there’s not a great deal between second place and 10th position.

“Next season, the minimum we’d need is the play-offs, and we’d take it from there.”