FAIRFORD Town manager Paul Braithwaite is hoping that his side return to their dominant style of football when he takes his promotion-chasers to Hellenic Division One West strugglers Old Woodstock Town tomorrow.

The Cinder Lane outfit currently lie in second place and are unbeaten since the middle December, having only dropped two points in their last six outings in the league - a 0-0 draw at Hook Norton.

However, last Saturday’s 3-2 victory over managerless Gloucestershire rivals Tuffley Rovers has left the Fairford boss looking for his side to make life easier for themselves tomorrow.

“We didn’t play our usual game against Tuffley,” Braithwaite said. “We knew that it was going to be tough but we were a little sloppy.

“We gave the ball away more than we usually do and we weren’t able to dictate the pace either.”

Fairford’s Oxfordshire hosts have not won in their last 10 matches and are reeling following’s last Saturday’s 5-0 home defeat to league leaders Tytherington Rocks.

But Braithwaite knows that his side must claim all three points at Old Woodstock, with Shortwood United just a point behind them and having two games in hand.

“At the moment the squad is coming along nicely,” he said. “All we are thinking about is our next game. If promotion comes our way then great, but right now we have to stay focused.

“We are managing to train twice a week and the fitness levels of the squad are good and I believe that we can adapt to whatever the conditions throw up.”

Fairford make the trip to Old Woodstock with a clean bill of health following their derby thriller, however, forward Nathan Gambling is unavailable, with former Highworth Town striker Alex Rudd set to return to the starting XI.

“It’s blow not having Nathan around as he is a good player for us,” Braithwaite said.

“But Alex is a someone who can easily fit straight so it shouldn’t be a problem.”