BRAINTREE Town know that they need to keep building from the back to continue the progression they have made in recent weeks.

The Iron head into their televised game at Dagenham and Redbridge today (kick-off 7.45pm) on the back of a five-game unbeaten run in the Vanarama National League.

The latest success came with a 3-2 home win against the Daggers on Boxing Day and they have taken 11 points from the last 15 available.

That has lifted Braintree out of the drop zone as well as drawing them towards clubs above them, but they know they must continue their progression to avoid falling back towards the relegation trapdoor again.

And they know how important staying tight in defence will be to achieving that goal.

Keeper Sam Beasant said: “I think we need to keep building at the back and make sure we’re targeting clean sheets.

“That’s always the plan, but we need to make sure we carry it through.

“We have been scoring quite freely and if we can continue to do that with making sure we’re keeping clean sheets then we will move on.

“I think the progression that we’ve made has been shown in recent games.

“We’d have maybe lost games earlier in the season where we’ve now been winning or drawing them, so things like that show we’ve got the fight back in us.

“I know that there is a spirit and fight to climb the table.

“The Gaffer is confident in us and we just need to keep all of that momentum going and can carry it into the New Year.”

Striker Jack Midson knows he has responsibilities at the other end of the pitch, but he agrees with Beasant about the importance of staying tight at the back.

“Clean sheets will help us,” added Midson. “We want to be creative going forward and we feel we will always score goals, but you don’t want to be too open at the back.

“We have been at times, but the manager has been working on that.

“We’ve had video analysis with watching people tucking round and just being a bit tighter at the back, with two banks of four and allowing the forwards to attack and score the goals.

“It hasn’t helped with having centre halves injured, like Jon Ashton and Jake Goodman and then we had a couple of the guys cup-tied so there were changes in the cup.

“We had it at the start of the season where we went through four or five keepers and then we’ve gone through about seven or eight centre-halves.

“But hopefully we can now maintain a solid squad and a solid team.

“There will be good competition for places at the back just like there is between myself, Michael Cheek and Lee Barnard up front and that’s good because it keeps you on your toes.

“You know you aren’t guaranteed to play as the manager will change things instantly.”

The game against the Daggers is being screened live on the BT Sport 1 television channel tonight and kicks off at 7.45pm.

“If you aren’t doing what he’s asked you to do then he’s the type of guy who will just pull you out and I can’t blame him.”