Ramsgate midfielder Billy Munday is enjoying working for new manager Ady Pennock.

Former Gillingham and Dartford boss Pennock took charge at Southwood in the close season.

It’s been a stop-start campaign, especially fixture-wise in the past fortnight, but with three wins in their last four games, the signs are encouraging for Ramsgate.

“I think Ady’s a really great guy and I’ve enjoyed playing under him these last three or so months,” said Munday.

“I don’t think we’ve had a bad start to the season, but I think we could have more.

“That might just be because we’ve all got high standards, Ady’s got high standards, Roland Edge (assistant manager) has high standards, so does Dave Winfield, the skipper.

“We all want to go out and win every game, but I feel like there’s been games this season where we should have got something out of it and we didn’t.

“We could have maybe four or five points extra on our tally at the minute, but I think we’ve started well apart from that.

“It’s very encouraging considering we’re all a new squad. It was a big reshuffle from the end of last season and obviously a new management team and a lot of new players.

“It’s a big group but we’ve got an unbelievable bunch of lads, they’re good lads, we all get on well. We had a team night out in London last week so it just shows that we’re together and stuff like that helps on the pitch, too.”

After welcoming his first daughter in March and with Pennock keen to switch the club’s training base to the other end of the county, Munday feared he might need to move on.

But he’s been able to strike the balance between football and family life, praising the manager’s understanding.

“Ady’s a great guy, I think he set his standards out straight away,” said Munday.

“I’ll be honest because I had a conversation with him in the summer about it, I’d just had a little one and I was going to find it quite hard to be travelling up to Gravesend and back for training.

“I’d get in from work and with a little one and stuff like that, she’s only seven months old, I was going to find it quite hard to balance that with it.

“But he’s been brilliant, he’s such a family man, he’s honest as well and it’s worked out fine.”

Pennock has also moved Munday further forward in the Ramsgate midfield.

He’s benefiting from a more advanced role with seven goals to his name already, while still continuing his prolific link-up play with Alfie Paxman.

“Ady said all he wanted me to do was to get in the box and score goals,” explained Munday.

“He’s trusted me in the system and I’ve really enjoyed it.

“I normally play in the holding role in a six or eight, but he’s put me into the number 10 position, and I haven’t played there since I was about 17 or 18!

“I went there for St Albans away and I was thinking this is all a bit new to me, I’ve got my back to goal more when normally everything is in front of me.

“But I scored straight away and was thinking this isn’t so bad! I’ve scored a lot of goals in there, I’ve created a lot, Pax has helped me a lot to be fair, we’ve got a nice combination going on while I’ve been further forward as well as other players like Callum Jones and Rowan Liburd.

“Those boys are all creating stuff for me so it’s a good little mix at the moment.

“Ady wanted to get Jacob Bland back into the team and asked me if I’d played there before. I said I’ll play anywhere for you, and I just haven’t gone back.

“Although when we’ve had players sent off against Bracknell and Tonbridge I’ve had to go to centre-back so I’ve gone from an attacking threat to a defensive one.

“But, like I said, I’ll play anywhere for him, I’ve got his trust, he’s got mine as well, so it’s enjoyable.”

After a goal-laden start to the campaign, Munday has had to realign his targets.

“I set myself for eight to 10 goals every season because of where we get so many set-pieces and the way I can just arrive in the box,” he added.

“I got a lot of goals at Deal. I scored 65 over there, including 22 in one season. I’ve already got seven this season so Ady reckons I could get 15 or 20. That’s my target now, it would be nice, wouldn’t it?

“There’s always room for improvement and there’s always time on the training pitch. We’re still a new group, so everyone’s learning everyone’s best attributes, what type of run they make, whether he likes it to feet or in behind.

“That’s only going to get better in the latter stages of the season so there’s no doubt that there’s going to be improvement.”

Ramsgate return from an 11-day break in action with a trip to Eastbourne Borough in Isthmian Premier on Saturday.

Borough have won their last five league games as they aim for an immediate return to National League South after relegation last season. It’s a trip into the unknown for Munday, though.

“They’re the team everyone was looking at when they came down,” said Munday. “You’re going to expect a bounce back, especially a club like Eastbourne.

“It’s the first time I’m going to be playing there or even playing against them, so I’m looking forward to it.

“We’ve had an absolute slog in October with some of the away games so Eastbourne away shouldn’t be any different to what we’ve had for the past few weeks. We’re looking forward to it, hoping for a result and a good performance.”

Ramsgate are away to Sheppey in the third round of the Velocity Cup next Tuesday night.