Hard graft is the very least that Halstead Town manager Mark Benterman will be demanding from his players as they return to Thurlow Nunn League division one action at Woodbridge Town today.

The Humbugs were left without a game last weekend due to a waterlogged pitch at Dereham Town so missed the chance to bounce back from a disappointing loss against Stowmarket Town in their previous outing.

A trip to Woodbridge will give them an opportunity to get back on track as the Suffolk side are sitting rock bottom of division one without a win in the league since late September.

And as it was Halstead who were the last team they beat – 3-1 at Rosemary Lane – there is a big incentive for Benterman’s team to get revenge in the reverse fixture.

However, they know that won’t come without a big amount of hard work.

Benterman said: “We want a top six to eight finish this year and know we need to bounce back from the Stowmarket result.

“We didn’t do ourselves justice against them, but that’s our season.

“You have a run of results when you think you’ve cracked it but then have a poor result when the players have an off-day.

“We have to believe we can win games against sides below us in the table but they can be tricky and the one thing teams down there bring is their work-rate so we have to match that desire."

See this week's paper for the full version of this story.