Now he is at the Braintree Town helm, Jamie Day wants the Iron’s home to become the fortress that he experienced as a visiting player and manager.

Day admits that his team’s home form hasn’t been good enough at the start of the Vanarama National League season and they head into tomorrow’s fixture against Forest Green Rovers with just one win from their five outings at the Ironmongery Direct Stadium so far this year.

The Iron boss feels his team have been too open against visiting teams and, having been Forest Green’s assistant manager last year, knows they are capable of causing problems if his current side don’t tighten up.

Day said: “The home form has been poor - we know that and we want to turn it around.

“Braintree was always a really tough place to come to when I played against them or managed teams against them, but it’s not at the moment.

“We are being too open and it’s been too easy for visiting teams.

“I don’t like making excuses, but maybe not having a pre-season with any home games did affect us a bit.

“We have been trying to create chances and that’s made us more open, but I think we need to be more solid and more patient in our play.

“It’s how you look to play away and perhaps we have to do that at home and look to catch teams out.

“There may be a few things we can do as we do need to turn the home form around.

“Forest Green are a good passing side and if we give them time and space then they have players who can open us up.

“That’s what happened against Gateshead and Torquay, but we need to have a good base to build from, make sure we don’t give teams an easy break and then show the right quality in the other box when our chances do come along.”

Having only missed out on promotion last year in the play-off final, Forest Green Rovers are a side with title aspirations and Day knows what threats they will hold after spending most of last year as assistant manager at the Gloucestershire club.

He added: “It’s about 50/50 with players who were there when I was and those who the new manager brought in.

“So I know a bit about them but looking at this weekend and the following Saturday (at Lincoln), they are two tough weeks.

“They are two games against teams who you know will be up there fighting for the title at the end of the season, but for us, maybe the pressure is off a bit.

“We believe we can get something from them both, but we know we need to put in good performances.”