SHRIVENHAM manager Sam Collier reckons that his side kick off a crucial pre-Christmas period when they travel to Reading Town tonight.

Shrivvy have already tasted victory at Scours Lane in the FA Cup this season but were beaten at home by Reading in September and go into the clash having not won in four games.

“It’s not a nice place to go on a Tuesday night but we have to try and get something from this game. Then we’ve got two home games (against Holyport and Cheltenham Saracens) that we have to look to win,” said Collier.

“We lost a couple of strikers (Steve Robertson and Josh Fowler) and there was a bit of unrest in the camp a few weeks ago, but everyone in the dressing room wants to be here now and the attitude is fantastic.

“We’ve played Saturday-Tuesday for a long time and we’ve played more games than anyone else.

“I guess it means we won’t have to play catch-up next year though and we can’t have any excuses.”

Collier’s Barrington Park men suffered a 3-0 defeat at 16th-placed Abingdon United last weekend.

Midfielder Sam Packer returns to the squad for the game at mid-table Reading after serving a suspension but Enoch Boateng, Craig Bowden and James Turner are all set to miss out.