TOM SHAW admitted it had been a stressful 90 minutes as he took charge of Chester for the first time as caretaker manager.

The Blues’ player/assistant manager has been asked to oversee first-team matters until a new manager is appointed as successor to Jon McCarthy, who departed in midweek following a dreadful run.

Shaw will certainly be in charge for the away trips to Gateshead and Dover Athletic this week, with the Blues hoping to have their new manager in charge ahead of the home clash with Maidenhead on September 22.

Shaw was delighted to see some of his alterations to Chester’s system come to fruition with James Akintunde’s equaliser securing a deserved point against Ebbsfleet.

“I enjoyed the goal, not the rest of it! I enjoyed seeing the lads work as hard as they did and I enjoyed seeing bits that we touched upon on Thursday before the game, when they go and do it at that level that is enjoyable,” he said.

“The worry when they’ve got possession and are in and around the box, that’s not one you can enjoy, I don’t know anyone who could enjoy that!

“I’ve been told I enjoyed the goal very much but I can’t remember what I did.

“Everything rests on my shoulders so I’ve had to step up. It’s probably five years before I ever thought I’d get this chance, and it’s only for a week, but I’m going to give it everything and the lads have responded great.

“I’ve got to get better, we’ll look at the week ahead, and hopefully the performance can improve on Tuesday.”

Shaw must now ready Chester for a difficult trip to Gateshead tomorrow night (7.45pm) and the 30-year-old may be able to call upon injured duo Ryan Astles and Harry White, the latter having stepped up his recovery from a torn thigh muscle prior to Saturday’s fixture by taking part in the warm-up.

“The lads will come in on Monday ahead of a tough trip on Tuesday so we will see,” he added, with Nyal Bell unavailable for the Gateshead clash due to being on-loan from the north-east outfit.

“It’s a bit bleak (at Gateshead) but they won’t need motivating and if we produce a similar performance then we’re looking to take some points.

“Andy Halls has played centre-half, it’s not his primary position and I thought he was outstanding again. He was composed in possession coming out from the back and Rowe-Turner was superb.

“McCombe had his best game arguably and Nathan (Sheron) kicked on from Tuesday so they were great.”