St Albans City joint manager James Gray believes an added focus on defence is beginning to bare fruit.

The Saints limited Weston-Super-Mare to one clear-cut goalscoring opportunity in Saturday’s 2-0 win as Joe Welch recorded his third Vanarama Conference South clean sheet of the season.

Sean Shields and Steve Wales scored first-half goals as City moved up to seventh in the table.

“The work we’ve put in defensively over the last month has paid dividends,” Gray told Saintsnet.

“We looked strong at set pieces and open play – we’re not giving teams much to go at. That side of things worked, but can we get the transition to be solid and then, when we have possession, play attractive football? It’s something we’ll be working on; to get the balance right defensively, attacking and the formation.”

He added: “Our philosophy is to get the ball down and play. At this level you can some times give yourself a headache by trying to play in the wrong areas. We’re trying to get a balance between being physical, direct, good with the ball and passing in the final third.”