LEE CANOVILLE has experienced a catalogue of ups and downs during his two spells at Boston United.

He arrived in the midst of the rollercoaster Steve Evans era in 2005 before leaving in 2007 as the club's off-pitch implosion began to bite.

By the time he returned in 2009 as part of Paul Hurst and Rob Scott's York Street revolution, United had been through two other managers and had a new chairman.

The Pilgrims, albeit in the non-league depths of the UniBond League Premier Division, were finally being run properly, players and staff were being paid and the club was rebuilding its reputation.

And a year into his second spell, with the club now in Blue Square Bet North, Canoville admits it's a joy to be at Boston.

"It's brilliant," confessed the Pilgrims skipper. "The chairman (David Newton) has been superb with the way he's turned the club around.

"You see all the problems that other clubs are having. We don't have that, we know we can just concentrate on football. That's why all the lads are happy."

During the closing months of his first spell at York Street, Canoville did not know whether he was going to get paid from one week to the next.

While most footballers claim not to be affected by such issues on the pitch, the 29-year-old admits it can hamper preparation and performance.

"It does affect you because you're building up to a game and you don't know if you're going to get paid," said the former Notts County defender.

"When you're out there on the pitch, you don't think about it. But before the game you might not have mentally prepared for the game correctly.

"You want to prepare correctly, but you're only human and if you have problems at home it can translate onto the pitch.

"The best players are the ones who are happy. While we were putting in those performances last season, when we won hard games, everyone was happy.

"Everyone gets on brilliantly and we want to take that into the new season."

Canoville's most pressing concern ahead of the new season is in which position he will start the campaign.

The ex-Arsenal trainee was a regular in the heart of defence last season, but following the arrival of Kieran Murphy, he has operated at right-back in Boston's two friendlies so far

"I'm not sure where I'm going to be playing," added Canoville.

"I've played there (right-back) the majority of my career and when I was at Boston last time.

"But whether it's centre-back or right-back, I'm not too bothered, it's about where the managers feel is best."

Boston experimented with a 4-3-1-2 formation in Tuesday night's 4-0 victory over Grantham in the Lincolnshire Senior Shield. And Canoville says the Pilgrims must be adaptable as they make the step up to Blue Square Bet North.

"We tried something a bit different and gave Spencer a free role (behind Danny Davidson)," he said.

"It took us a little while to get used to it, but once we did, it gave us a little more space to pass the ball."