GOALKEEPER Ben Killip feels the confidence Braintree Town will have taken from their superb 4-0 win against Barnet could be as important as the three Vanarama National League points they earned.

The Iron were completely dominant against the former Football League side as they belied their position at the foot of the National League table.

And, while they are still nine points from safety, they have now claimed eight points from their last five games and Killip, who has now recorded three clean sheets from four games, feels they will head to Hartlepool United in buoyant mood on Saturday.

“It’s really the confidence that we’ll take from it," he said.

“Everyone in the dressing room is good enough and we have a team that is good enough to do well at this level, so it is clearly the confidence that has been lacking.

“You can see by the way we played against Barnet.

“Confidence hasn't always been there but we have more than proved to ourselves that we actually are capable of taking ourselves up the league.

“It was nice that it came at home and to treat the fans.

“They have been turning up and unfortunately we haven’t been able to give them the performances so it was nice to put a smile on their faces and give ourselves some confidence to go to Hartlepool this weekend for another big game.

“We have to get a few wins back-to-back now to solidify what we’ve already done and start climbing the table.

“It’s all well and good winning 4-0 against Barnet and getting three points, but you’re only as good as your next game.

“We are confident, though, and we just have to take it into that next game now.

“It’s going to be a tough game because Hartlepool are a massive club – they’re a League Two side really – so it will be tough to travel a long way and get a result.

“But I know we have more than enough and are capable of beating anyone in this league.

“We’ve proved that."

As well as a robust defensive display, Braintree's win came courtesy of a Callum Morton hat-trick and a late Ifeanyi Allen strike and Killip said it was a performance that continued a welcome recent upturn in form for the Iron.

“It was a brilliant day all round," he said.

“But I felt it was the kind of result that had been coming for a while.

“Look at the Christmas period – taking out the Ebbsfleet games – we have done well.

“We’ve had three clean sheets, we beat Maidenhead and we drew with Boreham Wood and Halifax, which were games that we probably should have won as well.

“So it was good that we finally put someone to the sword.

“We took the game to a very good Barnet side that had just won at Sheffield United (in the FA Cup) and you can’t ask for a much bigger scalp than that."

On a personal level, the 23-year-old England C keeper was pleased to record another clean sheet in the game against Barnet and he felt they now had a solid defensive presence that was making his own job easier.

He added: “That’s three clean sheets in the last four games.

“With Rob (Atkinson) and Andy (Eleftheriou) coming in and complimenting Kodi (Lyons-Foster) and Ricky (Gabriel) we feel we have a really good back five unit.

“Add into that, with Courtney (Richards) and Cam (James) in front and we look really solid.

“I don’t think I’ve had a save to make in the last two league games against Halifax and Barnet.

“As a keeper, that’s such a nice position to be in.

“We’re looking really good and I think Rob and Andy have helped us to another level.

“It’s Rob’s first loan from Fulham and he’s had to come in and show what he’s about and Andy has played in the Premier League, which, for a team like Watford, shows what a good player he is."