Kidsgrove Athletic defender Oliver Jepson believes that the Grove can put an end to their current bad form and is confident that the team will stay up in the league.

The 21-year- old joined Kidsgrove Athletic at the end of last year, he was signed from Alsager Town and is enjoying his time at the Grove.

“I am settling in very well in to the team, I know most of the lads from Sundays and I am starting to get game time now which is a plus,” he said.

Kidsgrove Athletic are currently without a win in their last eight games in all competitions, Jepson believes the team have been unlucky in some games not to get the three points they deserved.

“I think the foundation in the team is there to be built on, we have great attackers such as Malbon and Cropper who are arguably two of the best attackers in this league.

“Mistakes have been made at the back including myself but every game for me is a learning curb.

“We are in a bad spell right now, but I believe this is going change soon and there will be points for us to gain,” added the defender.

Jepson was playing as a striker for Alsager Town last season and his manager at the time decided to try him out in a different position due to injuries in the team.

“I played one game last year in a cup game for Alsager at centre half, I had a solid performance and ever since then I have played in defence.”

Jepson impressive performances in defence earned him a trial for League two side Port Vale.

“Port Vale saw me in that position and gave me a trial, I was there for a short period and my time there did not work out how I expected it to.”

Grove Captain and top scorer Anthony Malbon played a big part in Jepson joining the Grove.

“After my trial with the Valiants, Kidsgrove Athletic showed interest in signing me, I spoke to Anthony Malbon who I have have known for years and he told me that Kidsgrove are a great club to be at.”

Jepson has seen a difference in the quality of football being played at Kidsgrove Athletic than at Alsager Town.

“Will (Ryder) puts great training sessions on and I train twice a week with the team, so it more professional. The quality of football is much better than my previous clubs,” said Jepson.

Jepson comes from a footballing background, his dad Ronnie Jepson was a professional football player who played for various of teams such as Port Vale, Exeter and Huddersfield etc.

“My dad playing football rubbed off on me quite well, I started playing football from an early age.

“I started at Audley F.C then I moved to Alsager Town, When I was 13 I went to Port vale for a short time and eventually moved back to Alsager Town,” added the 21-year-old.

Speaking about the team objectives from now till end of the season Jepson said: “As a team our objective is to stay in this league and over the summer bring some players in and build on the team.

"We can learn from our mistakes this season and hopefully do better next season.

“My personal objective is to start week in and week out for the team but for me the team comes first.

“We want to secure our place in the league for next season then we will see where we go from there.”

Outside of football, Jepson works as an account manager in the week for a firm and is trying to get used to balancing time between working, training and playing for Kidsgrove.

“At the moment I am finding it hard to balance my time as I don’t have driving license right now.

“Training is a big commitment for me, Ryan (Austin) is keen on training twice a week, the training sessions are more intense than I am used to which is a good thing for me as it helps me improve as a player,” added Jepson.

Jepson is looking to get more first team action at Kidsgrove Athletic and believes he can learn from teammates at the club.

“Personally, I want to play every game and I am only 21 years old. I want to at least challenge for the first team position, I am young and hungry. I believe I have a lot to offer to this club.

“It is my first year at centre half, I believe I still got a lot to learn in this position. I look at Jon (Beaumont), Leon (Ashman) and Ryan (Austin) who all play in a similar position. I look to learn from them and improve my knowledge in the game,” said Jepson.

The 21-year-old sees a bright future for the Grove and believes the club have too many top-quality players to go down.

“There are a good bunch of lads in the Kidsgrove team, everyone knows each other at the club and I don’t see us going down with the players we have in our team. If we get everyone match fit, we will be a force to be reckon with.”