WITH five Thurlow Nunn League division one games to come at the Milbank Stadium before the end of March, Halstead Town know how important the next few weeks could be for them.

The Humbugs have six games in a busy spell before the end of the month, with five of them on home turf, starting with the mouth-watering prospect of a local derby against Braintree Town Reserves tonight and then continuing against Framlingham Town on Tuesday (both kick-off at 7.45pm).

Manager Mark McLean knows how vital it is for his team to have a strong start to that run and said there can be no sloppiness against two sides in the top five in the table.

He said: “This game against Braintree is the start of an important spell for us and we then have Framlingham coming quickly after.

“It has to be good from us now.

“There are no excuses - we have to be confident at all times as there is no room for error.

“We know that Braintree have what it takes to expose any errors and Framlingham are still the most clinical side that we have come up against this season.

“We can’t afford any sloppiness in these next two games.

“Having so many home games is good for the club revenue-wise because they have not seen much football there recently, but all we are concentrating on as a team is what happens on the pitch and the players are hungry for action.”

McLean said striker Adam Hampson may be a doubt for tonight due to a knee problem.

Due to a combination of frost, snow, waterlogged pitches and a floodlight failure, McLean’s team have only completed five games in the opening two months of 2018, while tonight’s opponents saw action in midweek when they held high-flying Whitton United to a 1-1 draw.

In contrast, Halstead’s last outing was a dour 0-0 draw with Downham Town almost two weeks ago and the Humbugs boss has stressed how crucial it is for his players to get on the front foot early.

He added: “The start of the game will be key.

“It will have to be like it was in the game at (Norwich) CBS and we’ll have to get a good footing.

“It is our home game so we’d look to do that anyway, but we really have to make sure we do this time.

“We’ll have worked as much as we can in training, but I’m hoping our lads hit it hard and fast and we’ll see where it takes us.

“Hopefully the adrenalin on the night after not playing for a while gives us a nice edge, but this is certainly one where we need to start fast.

“If we can hit Braintree hard and fast then it will be hard for them coming off a midweek game where a heavy pitch would tired their legs, but if we let them settle then we know it could be tough.

“We want to put on a show for people after the Downham game.

“That was disappointing as we couldn’t break them down, but whatever game plan someone comes with, it is down to you to break them down.

“I’m sure that Braintree will not play that way as they have a style that should make it a great game to watch.

“None of us were happy after the Downham game, but we know what we need to do and hopefully there will be a big crowd for a game under the lights as you do see new faces come along for Friday night games.”