Last weekend saw The Mackerels thrash a struggling Merstham side 6-1 to put themselves top of the table, and since had their fixture on Tuesday away to Bishop’s Stortford postponed for a second time due to a waterlogged pitch.

“Especially when you’re in form, you’re always looking forward to when the next game, it was disappointing to have it called off but there’s nothing you can do about it, and it gave us the chance to rest further from Saturday”, said manager Adam Hinshelwood.

Worthing go into the fixture having recruited familiar face Kieron Pamment in midweek, with Hinsh believing his arrival is fundamental heading towards the crunch time of the campaign.

“It’s definitely good to have an experienced head at this stage of the season, he was part of a good training on Thursday so hopefully we’ll take the tempo from that into today.”

Despite Brightlingsea hovering above the relegation zone without a win since early December, Hinsh insists his side must take their opponents seriously. 

“I tend not to look at the table too much – anyone can beat anyone and it’s a really tough place to go so we can’t afford to be complacent.”

The return fixture saw The Reds brush Brightlingsea aside by three goals to nil curtesy of a Callum Kealy strike and a Marvin Armstrong brace back in October.