LONG-serving club captain Scott Arnold is convinced manager Matty Holmes’s Premier League pedigree has been a key factor in Wimborne Town’s recent revival.

Arnold, who has made more than 500 appearances for the Cuthbury outfit, is set to lead them as they bid to win promotion to the Southern Premier League.

A superb run of just one defeat in 16 games has seen Magpies secure a place in the Southern League West play-offs – with the coveted third position well within their grasp.

Victory over lowly Slimbridge at Cuthbury on Saturday (3pm) would give Wimborne home advantage in next week’s play-off semi-final – and also in the final on May 7 should they progress.

Since taking up his first managerial post along with assistants Danny Holmes and Shane Traynor in May 2016, Matty Holmes has helped transform the club, both on and off the pitch.

A Premier League player with West Ham and Blackburn in the mid-1990s, the 48-year-old guided Wimborne to their highest league finish last season and put the Dorset Senior Cup in the club’s trophy cabinet for the first time since 1997 earlier this month.

Defender Arnold, who missed the first three months of the season with an ankle injury, has played under a number of different managers during his time at Cuthbury, including his father Paul Arnold.

The 33-year-old told the Daily Echo: “The gaffer wouldn’t let us talk about the play-offs until it was mathematically certain we had reached them.

“As players, we have always kept things low key but, the longer the season went on, the more we believed we would sneak in.

“Now, we want to beat Slimbridge to guarantee third place and give ourselves home advantage in the play-off semi-final.

“It is testament to the hard work put in by the gaffer and his staff. They have turned us from a team which finished mid-to-lower table every season into play-off contenders.

“The gaffer played at the highest level and coached at AFC Bournemouth and has brought everything to this club and turned it round.

“Training is excellent, we have team meetings to find out everything we need to know about the opposition and we set up for each individual game.

“It is not being disrespectful to anyone who has been here before because they all had a hard job. But the gaffer now has made us more professional in our ways and our mentality.

“He has also built a squad. If a player is out, the next player coming in is just as good and that is where we have really pushed on this season. It shows the importance of a strong squad.

“We have locked horns with some big-hitters in this league and shown we can compete with them. Now, we are going to do everything we can to finish off the job.

“Even if we don’t get across the line, it would still be an unbelievable achievement from where we have come.

“A lot of hard work has also gone on behind the scenes. As well as the players and management, a lot of people are doing their utmost to help push the club on. It has been a fantastic team effort.”