RADCLIFFE Borough manager Danny Johnson praised his side’s team spirit following a five-star performance at New Mills on Tuesday.

Eighteenth-placed Boro cruised to their third and biggest win of the Evo-Stik campaign with a 5-0 drubbing of the basement club.

A brace from Matt Davies and efforts from Richard Smith, Sam McMahon and Steve Foster moved the Belvoir Stadium outfit above the 10-point barrier in First Division North, and Johnson was delighted with his players’ display after Saturday’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to Trafford.

“We were absolutely magnificent,” he told the Radcliffe Times.

“I was a little disappointed with how we played at Trafford so they’ve just gone out and done the business. It was a great reaction.”

With 11 points on the board, the Radcliffe boss is now targeting another 19 before the festive period to ease the pressure on the second half of the season.

“We want to finish as high up the table as we can so that we are not needing wins late in the season to stay in the division.

“The team has got such a good camaraderie and togetherness and that will be worth 15 or 20 points alone.”

Johnson praised veteran front man Foster after the 33-year-old notched up his fourth goal of the season at Church Lane.

“Steve has that vibe back. It’s like he’s 26 or 27 again.

“I brought him off with 20 minutes to go and he’s kicking the dugout because he doesn’t want to come off.

“He leads the line so well for players like McMahon, Davies and Tom Hulme to get in behind the opposition.

“A lot of the goals come because of the way Steve plays.”

Meanwhile, Johnson is calling on professional clubs and fans to get behind non-league sides to help bring through the next generation. More than 500 spectators watched as Boro lost to Trafford at Shawe View on Saturday as clubs celebrated Non-League Day.

Many professional stars have risen through the non-league ranks over the years including West Brom defender Craig Dawson, who began his career at Boro.

Fellow England internationals Chris Smalling and Jamie Vardy played for non-league sides Maidstone Town and Halifax Town respectively, while Brentford striker Scott Hogan was at Ashton United during Johnson’s managerial reign before joining Rochdale as a professional.

“Non-league football is a really big window and professional clubs need to nurture and get behind non-league clubs because it is so difficult to fund the next generation of lads,” he said.

“Non-league football is where the open age game starts and we need supporters to come and watch and put money into clubs so that we can develop the facilities to help youngsters up the football pyramid.”

Boro entertain mid-table Scarborough Athletic at the Belvoir Stadium on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.