Whether Helston Athletic manager Sid Taylor admits it or not, Saturday’s victory over Callington Town must have felt sweet.

Written off earlier in the season after a string of  poor results which left them  floundering in mid-table, Helston were forced to contend with a slew of injuries to key players, continued speculation about dressing room unrest, and the nagging doubt that last season represented a high water mark Taylor’s side would do well to ever replicate.

Fast forward three months, and despite a weather-related break extending all the way back to boxing Day, the Blues look close to finding something like the form which earned them praise up and down the county last season, and saw them take Bodmin to a Senior Cup replay.

But if Taylor (pictured right) was as thrilled as the supporters who witnessed Helston’s demolition job on Lee Beer’s side at Kellaway Park, he was giving nothing away.

“I was really pleased,” he said. “I thought the lads reacted in the way I hoped they would. 

We’ve been training hard during the break, and they all really put the effort in, but you do worry when you haven’t played for so long. You worry about being rusty. But in the end I thought we controlled the game from start to finish.”

Helston may be trailing in the wake of Mousehole, who maintained their strangle hold on top spot in division one west with a late victory over Perranporth.

But Taylor believes second place is a realistic possibility, and if nothing else, it means the Blues will be perfectly poised to pounce should  Wayne Quinn’s side suffer an unlikely wobble.

“It would be nice if they did but I can’t see it happening,” he said. “They’ve come out of the traps flying and only lost one game all season. You can’t do anything but hold your hands up and say well done to them.

“But we’re pleased with where we are. When we looked at the league in November it looked like our season was over. Now we have a chance to grab that second place, and I’d be delighted if we could finish runners up in the league.

“It’s going to be very difficult. We know that. All we can do is keep working hard and see what happens.”