 Stallard was voted September's League Two player of the month |
When he joined Lincoln City in the summer, well-travelled striker Mark Stallard would have been forgiven for not expecting quick success.
The 31-year-old arrived at Sincil Bank - the 10th move of his career - in July to find a club adjusting to life under new coach John Schofield and director of football John Deehan.
Fast forward three months and it would be fair to say Stallard has hit it off with the new regime.
He has netted seven goals and collected September's award for League Two player of the month in a high-flying Imps team.
But Stallard remains level-headed about the honeymoon period he is enjoying at his new club.
"It was nice to find out about the award. But although individual rewards are great, when you get them it generally means the team is doing well," he told BBC Sport.
"That's the case at the moment. Obviously I'm delighted but as a team player, I'm concentrating mainly on team performances and getting the right results."
The Imps are League Two's perennial high-flyers, with finishes of seventh, sixth, seventh and sixth in the past four seasons under former boss Keith Alexander.
His departure in May heralded the appointment of Schofield as coach alongside Deehan.
"I was very impressed by the set-up when I arrived," said Stallard.
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"Things have gone well, so that helps, but it's a good set of lads and there's the nucleus of a very good squad. "I came into it thinking we could achieve things and I still believe we can, although we need to push on.
"People might say that things are going better than we might have expected, but John Schofield's an ambitious young coach, he's got all the badges.
"John Deehan's very experienced and helping him out, and the two of them are getting the club doing things the right way and it's a very professional set-up.
"They're both very ambitious and they're not the sort of people who would be happy to sit around at a club that wasn't looking to go anywhere."
Despite their lofty position in the upper echelons of League Two, Lincoln fans might be forgiven for casting a nervous glance over their shoulders after four successive play-offs failures.
"Of course we'd rather get automatic promotion rather than taking our chances in the play-offs, especially given what's happened in the past," said Stallard.
"But wanting it isn't enough. We want promotion, but so do 23 other clubs.
"It's all well and good saying we've had bad luck in the past four years, but we've got to not let that affect us this season.
"We have to stay focused and if it is the play-offs, then it is the play-offs. It's not a case of being able to pick and choose. If we play to our potential, we've got more than a good chance of achieving what we want."
| At the moment I'm feeling good and feeling fit - and long may it continue |
But Stallard is in no doubt that the current set-up is capable of capitalising on the team's good start. "Yes, it's the gaffer's first year in management, but everybody has to start somewhere.
"He's got drive and ambition. He'll not want to hang around at this level for too long and certainly he'll want to move up with Lincoln because that's his club.
"We're not going to sit back and rest on our laurels and the management team know that.
"But they're there to ensure we don't take our foot off the pedal just because we've got a good start - but a good start is all it is."
As for Stallard's own ambitions, success is on the agenda, retirement is not.
"I'm 32 later in October and when you get to 30 people start thinking 'well, he's coming to the end'," he said.
"But I'm looking to play for as long as possible, hopefully three or four more years - that would be great.
"At the moment I'm feeling good and feeling fit - and long may it continue."
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