“People laugh at me when I say it, but we’ve just got to control the controllables,” Calvert said.
“If you‘re not on top of what you’re doing, then you will get punished. That’s been shown to us already this year.”
Calvert said he felt like the club was getting a lot of respect from other clubs in the league.
Player confidence was rising as results started to come.
“Another big thing is learning from our mistakes.”
The squad is largely unchanged from the start of the season.
Ryan Holden is currently the club’s top goal-scorer and 14th overall in the league, with seven.
“Obviously you get injuries, and we’ve had a couple of suspensions here and there,” Calvert said.
“There are a few more players really contributing to the first team from our reserve team. I think that’s one of the biggest success stories this year.
“Players have started in the reserves, moved up, and haven’t looked like they’ve been two levels below the Central League.”
Athletic Reserves are in the final of this year’s Federation Cup and sit second in the Horizons Premiership.
That is a dramatic turnaround from last season.
“From the wooden spoon to a very comfortable second place is a fantastic effort,” Calvert said.
“A lot of praise has to go to [Reserves coach] Sean Petersen. We work very well together, and there’s a close link between the two teams.
“He’s been outstanding.”
The Reserves won 3-1 away to Napier Marist to book a place in the final against Napier City Rovers Reserves.
“In every single round, we’ve played against the first team of a club,” Calvert said.
“It’s just another great moment for the club. Over the last two seasons, there are more and more positive moments on the pitch for both teams.”
Athletic’s first team play Miramar Rangers and Waterside Karori to finish the season. Both are out of playoff contention.
Calvert said Miramar had been a top-four team for the past 10 seasons, while Waterside Karori made the Chatham Cup semifinals.
“One would look at these games and think they haven’t got anything to play for.
“You would be very naïve to think they’re just going to roll over and not be bothered about the result.
“There is obviously personal pride, and in this league, coaches don’t set up teams to just p*** around.”
Whanganui Athletic play Miramar Rangers at Harrington Park on Saturday. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
