Braintree Town assistant manager Barry Bolton says the Iron's players have to keep believing in what they are doing when they face the Vanarama National League leaders tonight.

The Iron are due to entertain high-flying Leyton Orient at Cressing Road and with a big crowd expected, the hosts will be looking for a strong performance that will earn them a first home win of the season.

They come into the game on the back of a deflating ending to their home game against Maidstone United on Saturday when a 95th minute penalty robbed them of a point as the Stones won 1-0 and Bolton insists that chins must be kept up.

He said the 94 minutes that preceded the goal had been good from his team's perspective and while they didn't get the goal he felt they deserved, he was encouraged by the Iron's performance and wants players to carry belief into tonight's encounter.

Bolton said: “Everyone is beating themselves up after Saturday and I know all people see is a one-nil defeat, but for us as coaches, we have to look at performances.

“In many ways, we controlled that game against Maidstone.

“I felt we played the better football in stages and looking at the stats, I’m sure we threatened their goal more than they did ours.

“But the only way to stop the players going into their shells is to keep reinforcing the belief into them.

“Keep reinforcing the philosophy of what we do.

“People have to judge us at the end of the season.

“We know that already it is looking like a relegation battle, but don’t write us off.

“It’s so tight and one or two wins can set us flying.

“A little of bit of confidence will do us wonders and you saw that on Saturday and how we started after the Gateshead game.

“These boys of ours can play, let me tell you.

“We certainly don’t coach them to play with fear but the reality is that as games are going on, people are tightening up a bit.

“So our message will be no different and we’ll tell them to get out there, work hard for each other, be organised and play to their ability.

“We have a talented bunch here."

Bolton is pleased that Braintree have a quick opportunity to bounce back from the disappointing ending of Saturday and believes that Braintree shouldn't be written off, despite the contrasting recent form between themselves and tonight's visitors.

He added: “Is it good or not to have a game so soon? I’ll tell the answer to that at the end of Tuesday night.

“If we have won it or got something out of it then it’s a good thing.

“We just have to keep believing in our philosophy.

“We want to get the ball down and play it and we have definitely tightened up at the back from how we were at the beginning of the season, but hopefully they’ll all be hungry to put the Maidstone game behind them.

“There’s not much else you can do.

“That’s what this league is about.

“You don’t have time to dwell on it and we’ll have to regroup.

“Personally, for me, it’s a great fixture for the club and for the boys to play in.

“Everyone will be writing us off and that’s fine – let them write us off at their peril.

“We will keep pushing on and hopefully it will be an important opportunity to put the frustration of Saturday right."