Braintree Town manager Danny Cowley is finding a positive way to look at the adversity of having key players on the sidelines in recent weeks and a punishing schedule of fixtures.

The Iron have been battling against a number of injuries, with Mark Phillips, Anthony Edgar, Simeon Akinola, Kenny Davis, Dan Sparkes and Michael Cheek all among the list of those requiring treatment.

That has stretched Cowley’s resources as games have continued to come at a pace, but the Iron boss is impressed with how his players have drawn strength from the adversity that they have found themselves in.

Cowley said: “We had to pull on players’ heart-strings to get them to play at Woking, but they are such a willing group that they will do that for the club.

“It shows the strength that is there in the squad and on the flip side, when we are exposed to adversity as we have been exposed recently, we grow stronger from it.

“I think the bonds that are there and the togetherness gets stronger and that’s a positive.

“We are only a young group, but we are seeing a real determination in them and while we may not have experienced as high a level of football as some of the clubs we are coming up against, we have aspirations to get there.”