Peters 'primed' and ready to take Magpies forward after dream start to post-Devonshire era

Ryan Peters has said he feels ‘primed’ and ready to take the club forward after taking over the reins from former boss Alan Devonshire and leading the Magpies to a deserved 2-0 win over Hornchurch in his first match.

Peters, who is leading Maidenhead in an interim capacity alongside interim assistant Aaron O’Brien spoke to Devonshire on the phone on Saturday morning, but admitted it was ‘weird’ not to have him beside him in the dugout and during the day.

Crucially, though, Peters said it also felt ‘right’ and without Devonshire’s guidance and experience, the Magpies still produced arguably their best display of the season as they systematically wore down the league leaders with goals from Will de Havilland and Jayden Mitchell-Lawson.

De Havilland’s first half header from a Josh Popoola corner gave the hosts a deserved lead and they should really have built on that advantage before Mitchell-Lawson swept home the second from the edge of the area in second half stoppage time.

Highlights from yesterday's 2-0 win over Hornchurch are now available online

Watch here https://t.co/Y9Jc9wHKTD

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) December 7, 2025

Peters has had Devonshire as his gaffer at Maidenhead and Braintree Town for the past 15 years, so it’s not surprising that he would miss his presence, however he and O’Brien showed on Saturday they’re capable of coaching a performance out of this Magpies side and the future - after three straight victories in the league - looks very rosy indeed.

The win lifts the side to 10th in the table, still four points off the play-off places, but the Magpies do have a game in hand over five of the nine teams above them.

“‘Weird is the best word,” said Peters of his first game without Devonshire.

“We knew this was coming and we were ready and prepared for it. But I’m used to having Alan Devonshire beside me for the last 15 years or so.

“It felt weird, but additionally, it felt right and he has primed me for this. He called me this morning and wished me luck and told me we were ready for this.

“Now it’s down to us to make sure we take this on.”

O’Brien has also been coaching the first team under Devonshire for the past 10 years and said it felt strange to lead the club on Saturday without him. However, he feels the foundations are in place for him and Peters to build on this recent good run and get the club back in promotion contention.

“It was very strange,” said O’Brien. “He rung me this morning to wish us good luck. He brought me to the club, and I’ve been here for 11 seasons.

“I’ve been in the dugout with him more than 400 times so it’s very strange him not being there, but we’ve also learned so much from him,

“Peyo and I, so hopefully we can take all that and put it into the remainder of the season and build on the foundations that he’s set and get the club back into the National League.”

Those sentiments were echoed by summer signing Josh Popoola who has flourished in the freedom he’s been given by the recent change in shape and formation.

He may not have got on the scoresheet on Saturday, but he supplied the first goal for captain De Havilland and Hornchurch struggled in vain to get a handle on him all afternoon. His performance also saw him named in the Enterprise National League South team of the week, but in truth anyone who started in black and white on Saturday had a justifiable claim for being included.

“We were very confident coming into this game.” he said after the final whistle. “AOB (O’Brien) and Peyo (Peters) have given us information, and we’ve taken that on board. It was a good job well done by the team.

“Yeah, I agree, we’re finding the balance in terms of our playing style and we’re delivering on the pitch so it’s good. It’s just coming down to the training ground and what we’ve been doing.

“We’re full of confidence. We’ll take each game as it comes. We can’t dwell on the highs, and we can’t dwell on the lows.”