HALSTEAD Town manager Mark McLean wants his team to “correct” a “fake scoreline” when they host Framlingham Town at the Milbank Stadium tomorrow.

The Humbugs boss felt his side were the architects of their own misfortune when the two sides met in a Thurlow Nunn League division one clash in Suffolk before Christmas and Framlingham claimed a 5-1 victory.

McLean said he had moved to deal with things that were wrong that day in the intervening period, though, and feels they can now set the record straight.

“That game opened my eyes to a few things that I had to deal with and I’ve done that,” he said.

“So we’ve got better since we played them before.

“It was a fake scoreline that day, but they are clinical and we know what we have to do - we have to correct that scoreline

“I think we have handled ourselves very well when we’ve played teams above us in the league apart from on that day and I want us to make it right this time.

“Four of the goals that day were gifts.

“Their second goal was very good, but all the others were mistakes on our part and there were three goals in four minutes - all from our errors.

“Things like the keeper kicking the ball straight to one of their strikers and a wayward pass across the back line.

“At 2-0 we were very much in the game, but their third goal did us and quick ones followed after that.

“We know they are a very good side but we have to better than we were that day.

“But I think you can see how we have moved on since then.”

Halstead head into the match, though, having not completed a full Thurlow Nunn League division one game in three weeks after an abandoned fixture at Swaffham and then a postponement at Debenham LC last weekend.

While McLean admits that isn’t good preparation to face a side who put five goals past his team less than two months ago, he is confident that his players will be ready.

“Having another game called off is a frustration for us because we were in our stride with the two wins we had had before that,” he said.

“It was a good moment and while I’m not saying were not still there now, not getting that game time has taken some of the momentum out of us.

“It’s a tough game that we’ve got coming up as we know the dangers that Framlingham bring and they have managed to play in the weeks that we haven’t.

“It is what it is, but it’s not ideal.

“Hopefully the work that we did in the early part of the season on the players’ fitness is benefitting us now.

“I hope their general fitness will be good and we have been working hard in training so I’m confident we’ll be OK.”

McLean said he may be without Jake Brown and Chris Harris due to personal commitments, but he had no fresh injury concerns.

Saturday’s game against Framlingham is set to be the first first-team action at the Milbank Stadium in more than a month and the Halstead boss is hoping that cold weather doesn’t hit after last weekend’s postponement at Debenham LC due to a waterlogged pitch.

McLean added: “To be honest, I saw a few messages coming from Debenham on the Friday, so I guessed that it may be the case and it wasn’t a major shock.

“It was very frustrating, but not a huge surprise.

“Our big worry now is cold weather that is being forecast on Friday night.

“The pitch itself is looking OK.

“We have had a reserve game on it and it has been holding up well, but the problem is the area in front of the stand when we have a deep frost as it sometimes doesn’t thaw out there, so there is a worry if it is freezing on Friday night.”