ANTHONY Sheehan played down his part in Witton’s 2-0 win at Barwell on Saturday, preferring instead to praise Albion’s players.

But chants by away supporters in favour of ‘Anthony Sheehan’s red and white army’ left no doubt who they believe was behind the Northwich outfit’s fourth success in five matches.

“The lads and also the fans have made it clear they want me to get the job,” said the 32-year-old, a contender to fill a vacancy for manager created by Brian Pritchard’s departure.

“It’s very humbling to hear and to read what they have said.

“I’m happy with the players; they did exactly what I asked of them.”

And Sheehan, after delivering seven points in three matches along with stand-in management team members Nigel Deeley and Dave Andrew, has done the same for chairman Mark Harris.

Witton played the entire second half with 10 men following Neil Harvey’s dismissal for retaliating to Callum Woodward’s provocation by swinging an elbow, but still ran out easy winners.

Sheehan said: “I made clear at half time this could be a big moment in the season even at this early stage.

“Had we not won from 2-0 up, particularly after we’d controlled the game, then it would have been a travesty.

“I thought they might come on to us a bit more and put us under pressure, but we had more chances than they did in the second half.

“With a bit more care in our counter-attacks, we could have score more.

“That’s not a criticism – I’m more pleased to see players putting themselves in those positions even though we were a man down.”

Sheehan could discover as early as today, Sunday, if Harris considers him the right man to replace Pritchard at the helm.

The former Colwyn Bay midfielder joined Witton’s backroom staff in the summer after assistant manager Mike Moseley stood down.

He said: “I’ve been more hands-on since the first day of pre-season, taking training and doing more coaching.

“The lads have grown used to me telling them what to do, which is why they’ve responded so well since Pritch left.”

He had no complaints about referee Matthew Jones’ decision to show Harvey a red card.

“Neil deserved to be sent off – he retaliated which he knows you can’t do,” added Sheehan.

“He’s apologised, and we’ll move on.

“I asked the players to drop a bit deeper to prevent balls being played to their front two in the second half, which we succeeded in doing.

“We were comfortable, but made sure the job still got done.”

To read a report on Saturday's game, click here: http://bit.ly/1nCPPek