WHILE losing the chance to play last weekend was a frustration for Braintree Town, the Iron's assistant manager Andy Porter said it had given them a chance for several players to recover from niggling injuries.

The Iron were due to host Vanarama National League South basement boys Whitehawk, but a snow-covered IronmongeryDirect Stadium pitch caused a postponement and they will now have back-to-back away dates at Hampton and Richmond Borough on Saturday before a trip to Weston Super Mare on Tuesday.

By the time Braintree go to Hampton and Richmond, they will have had just one game in four weeks - the 2-2 draw with Wealdstone two weeks ago - and Porter is aware of the effect of that, but he said the time off has given some players time to recuperate from knocks.

"It is a bit of a worry - not about the boys' fitness, but time out can affect sharpness," he said.

"They should still have good base fitness at this time of the season, but a lack of action can hit the sharpness and we've tried to do what we can.

"When we had that first snow, we got them into the gym and had a cross-training session with them, which was a really good two-and-a-half hours.

"So we have tried to keep them going, but if I'm being honest, having no game last Saturday did allow us to get some players back who may have been a doubt.

"Josh Hill was struggling with his back, Jon Muleba had a bit of a hamstring strain and Pat Webber has had an ankle problem, so a week's rest won't have hurt them and hopefully we'll get them back for Saturday's trip to Hampton and Richmond.

"We have a lot of games coming up so we'll need the whole squad.

"We will be missing Marc Okoye for Saturday as he'll have the third game of his suspension, but he'll then be back for Tuesday when we head to Weston Super Mare."

While Braintree were frustrated by the weather last weekend, though, other clubs did see action and results elsewhere saw the Iron slip out of the play-off places, however, Porter isn't worried by that.

He said when he and manager Brad Quinton were in charge at Enfield Town, they had to move up into the play-off places in the closing part of the campaign and it wasn't a situation he was uncomfortable with now.

He added: "When we were at Enfield, we were always in the chasing pack just outside the play-offs and we seemed to be OK.

"I do think you have less pressure on you in that position.

"Hampton and Richmond are right up there so we know we need points on Saturday, but I think there may be less pressure on us.

"Maybe that will calm us down and we can make sure we play our football."

The two games coming up are against sides who also have aspirations of finishing in the play-off places and Porter knows the opening periods of both games will be crucial to success.

He added: "We know who we are up against and we know it will be a tough first 60 minutes when we have to win the early battle.

"We can then make changes and have players coming off the bench to make an impact.

"Hampton are a strong side so we know it will be tight for 60 to 70 minutes, but we'll look to lay our normal football, make sure it stays tight and win those battles."