KODI Lyons-Foster insists there is one thing that Braintree Town need above and beyond everything else in their battle to stay in the Vanarama National League this year.

Strength of character will be the key according to the 22-year-old former Bristol City defender and he firmly believes the Iron have enough to see them finish the right side of the relegation line at the end of the season.

Braintree, who are still bottom following a 1-0 defeat by one of Lyons-Foster's former clubs, Aldershot Town, last weekend have 12 games to preserve their place in non-league football's top flight.

They start that with a trip to Dover Athletic on Saturday and then have a home game against another side struggling to beat the drop, Chesterfield Town, on Tuesday.

Lyons-Foster knows the Iron are in a scrap and that they must do better than against the Shots, but he insists there is more than enough of the magic ingredient within their squad to get them to safety.

He said: “Losing to Aldershot was tough, but we’ll keep chipping away and we’ll have to bounce back next week.

“That’s all we can do.

“It’s 100 per cent down to character now for us.

“It’s not down to individual performances or being the better side footballing-wise – it’s down to putting in more than the other team for 90-plus minutes and digging deeper.

“And I absolutely know we have that in our dressing room.

“I still believe and have the same faith that I had from the start of the season that we can stay in this league.

“I know we have the players to stay up; we have the right group, but it’s just about turning up and doing what we have to do.

“It’s difficult to put the Aldershot display to one side because it’s a second defeat on the bounce but we have to draw confidence from games like the ones against Salford and Barnet.

“They’re no Mickey Mouse sides, so we have to remember that we’ve beaten them and realise what we’re about.

“The positives are still there for us and we’ll take that to Dover.

“I’m not writing anything off – I still have that same faith and we’ll take that into the last game against Leyton Orient.

“We will keep chipping away and hopefully we’ll come through at the end.

“It will come down to character, though.

“It’s past individual performances and it’s all about the character of the team.

“Making sure we dig deeper than the other team and give more."