AMATEUR football club boss Billy Redden believes his side need to learn from past mistakes ahead of their away clash against Southport.

Whitehaven AFC manager Redden hopes that his squad will brush off "first game nerves" before they face Southport on their home turf this Saturday.

New signings, including more experienced players were in the mix for the first game of the season this past weekend which saw Whitehaven lose 3-0 to one of the top teams of the league in Tempest United.

Redden saw signs of the improvements he was hoping to make with recent signings but he said: "They all did well but there was a bit of first game nerves and adrenaline, the goals we conceded were all our own fault."

He hopes that the side will be in the right headspace when they make the trip to The Merseyrail Community Stadium.

"It's a game we need to be able to pick some points up from. If we can get a good game in, I'm cautiously optimistic."

"We've got two training sessions this week to work on everything."

Redden has introduced new tactics since taking up the post last October.

He said: "We video a lot of our own games so that we can see the mistakes we made, it's a lot easier to work on if you can show the lads."

Whitehaven's manager has previously said that he hopes some more experienced signings will mean a change in fortunes for the side.

Mal Holliday has made a return to the club to don the captain's armband and lead the younger players to future victories.