MANAGER Mark Ashford says Witham Town should go to Soham Town Rangers intent on a three-point haul if they believe they are the team that he and rival Bostik League division north bosses know they are.

Ashford knows Witham's bottom-two position is a false reflection of the quality in his young squad and he felt they showed how good they can be when drawing 1-1 with high-flying play-off contenders Heybridge Swifts in the derby at the Village Glass Stadium last Friday.

They now head to the only side below them in the table and although the Witham boss insists it won't be a result that defines the campaign for either side, he does feel his team need to build on that performance against their local rivals when they face Soham on Saturday.

“People will call it a six-pointer at this part of the season and you can understand why," he said.

“There’s obviously still a long way to go, though, and if we win there, I don’t think it puts Soham in a position where they are relegation favourites and likewise if they win, I don’t think it does it to us.

“But the more important thing for me is, if we are the team that we believe we are, which is certainly a mid-table team and every manager who has played against us has asked me why we are down the bottom, and if that’s true, then we have to go to a team like Soham and we should have a philosophy and an intention to come back with three points.

“That’s really got to be our focus - to prove to people that we are that team.

“A couple of wins in this league and you are suddenly up in the mid-table.

“It doesn’t take a lot – just look at last season.

“Under a different manager and with more experienced players, Witham were in a rut at this stage of the season with 12 games without a win.

“They went and beat Hornchurch, were undefeated in November and by January were on the edge of the play-off places before ending the season in 11th.

“I think at this stage they were second or third from bottom so there’s no reason why we can’t do the same.

“We are still working hard on bringing in a couple of players that will make the difference and hopefully players I’m speaking to will see results like the one against Heybridge and see that we are not a bad side so they will want to come here.

“Hopefully results like Friday’s help sell the fact that we’re a good team.

“Ideally I want players with experience to help balance off the fact we’ve got a very young side; either that or very special young players on loan from a professional club."