BRAINTREE Town manager Hakan Hayrettin feels his team’s stirring performance to secure their passage into the FA Trophy second round shows that they are prepared to “fight all the way” to stay in the Vanarama National League this year.

A superb second-half performance from the Iron saw them beat Torquay United last weekend as two goals from Jack Midson saw them to a 2-0 victory that set up an FA Trophy second round date at East Thurrock United in the New Year.

However, their immediate concerns are getting clear of the Vanarama National League relegation zone and Hayrettin feels they can draw on the battling second-half performance when they head to Gateshead on Saturday and then to Boreham Wood on Tuesday.

But while he also delighted with the result against Torquay, he was also pleased to see his team keep a clean sheet after conceding nine goals in their previous two games and he feels it shows the fight that his squad have.

The Iron boss said: “The result (against Torquay) was important, the win was important and winning at home was important, but more important was the fact that I’ve got a group of players who are responding.

“We want the whole of Essex to know that we aren’t going to go down lying down.

“We’re going to fight all the way and we are going to stay up.

“We are going to make sure that this group of players that we have will do the club proud.

“There is one option and that’s it - there is no other option.”

Midson is also confident that Braintree can carry the winning mentality they had in the FA Trophy back into the Vanarama National League.

The 33-year-old former AFC Wimbledon striker said: “I know it was a cup game, but it doesn’t matter what competition it’s in, it gives you a winning mentality and we can take that into the league as well.

“The manager had a few words at half-time and we livened up in the second half by doing the basics right.

“It was a bit scrappy in the first half and I think both teams were a bit anxious.

“However, we’ve been good all year at attacking teams and opening them up.

“It’s just defensively where we’ve had to improve and keeping a clean sheet was through the defence and Sam Beasant, who was on form again.

“He’s done that in the last few games for us when he’s kept us in it.

“Although we conceded a load at Southport, it could have been more and he’s kept out some goals for us.

“He won us the game then but as the manager said, it’s his job to do that; he did that and we did our job at the other end.”