WITHAM Town manager Mark Ashford hopes high-flying Heybridge Swifts bring out the best in his players when they head to Scraley Road for local derby action on Friday night.

Having got themselves back on track - after three Bostik League division north defeats - with a 2-1 win against Great Wakering Rovers last weekend it will be another chance for Witham to move further up into the mid-table positions.

And while third-placed Swifts are a side pressing hard for promotion this year, Ashford feels his players can head there with a positive mindset.

In fact, it is against sides lower down the standings that he feels they have struggled most this year, having taken points off high-flying sides like Swifts, Maldon & Tiptree and Coggeshall Town already this season and he is hoping it will be the same story on this occasion.

“We have not turned up enough for games against teams around us," said the Witham boss.

“We seem to be so much better against teams towards the top and I hope that’s the case on Friday at Heybridge.

“We have tended to play our best football in those so-called bigger games and I think that’s all about the mindset of the players.

“With a young group, they see those so-called bigger games and think ‘we’ve got to be at our best here’.

“They get themselves up for those sorts of performances and are mentally switched on.

“You can feel the energy in the team.

“They know they all have to be at their best to get anything from it and that adds another ten to 15 per cent.

“You see it in FA Cup games where you have a team at the bottom of their league beating Premier League sides so they are clearly getting themselves up for the big games against big teams.

“We have done it consistently against the better teams in this league and I have to confess, I have more confidence going into some of those games than I do for ones against mid-table teams or ones below us.

“That is totally wrong as it should be the other way round and I have said to the players that I want to see us finish the season strongly to set up momentum for next season."

Ashford said that momentum could be vital to his team's progression into the summer and then into the next campaign and said his players needed to prove now that they wanted to be part of plans heading forward.

He added: “You want to build something to take into the next year and the players have to show that they have learned this year.

“They are a young group and there are a number who are having their breakthrough seasons at this level where they are playing week-in week-out.

“You can go all the way through the team and see that and you understand mistakes being made at the start of the season with how they get their preparation right and various things that you need to do at this level.

“But as the season progresses, you want to see them progress and my challenge to them now is to show that they have been learning.

“Next year, we need to move on again; even if we have the same low budget, I expect us to be that little bit better.

“Instead of having just five points by mid-November, we need to have a reasonable tally after a much better start and add that to what we have done this season and we’ll be in a much better position.

“So the players have to show that they are improving, that they are mentally stronger and that they are going to finish the season well to show they can do consistent well next season.

“I’ve said to the players that if I’m staying here next year, I want almost three-quarters of the squad settled by the end of this season.

“We’ll have 15 of 20 players sorted ahead of pre-season so we can work then on how we are going to play.

“I had to rebuild a whole team last year and I don’t want to be in that position again.

“So I want things sorted, but the players have to show now that they can do it week-in week-out next year.

“They need to do that this season or I will have my doubts about them and that’s my challenge to them all now."