AFTER months of playing the underdog card while guiding his side to the Southern League summit, Supermarine boss Mark Collier has reluctantly accepted the tag of “favourites” for tomorrow’s home clash with Bedford Town.

Victory over the Eagles could see Supermarine soar into second place in the table if other results go their way, and Collier insists the pressure is on to perform.

Last week’s excellent win over Bromley in the FA Trophy has further raised expectations at Hunts Copse, and the manager knows the fans will be expecting nothing less than three points.

He said: “Bedford are a big non-league club, but they struggled last season and had a reprieve from relegation because somebody couldn’t go up.

“It’s a game that this time last year we would be saying, can we get something out of it? Now we go into it as favourites.

“They have signed three players in the last week though, including two from Hitchin and Tony Battersby from Corby, so they will obviously looking to make an impression.

“They concede very few goals but they haven’t scored many either so I would expect it to be quite tight.”

A 4-1 home defeat to Hemel Hempstead earlier this month looked to have derailed Marine’s Premier Division push, but the players have responded well.

A draw at Bashley was followed by victories over Oxford City and Bromley, and Collier has praised his squad’s resilience.

“We have got young players and while that sometimes brings inconsistency it also brings confidence,” he said.

“Even after that heavy defeat to Hemel there was still a lot of belief in the dressing room.

“We know we are not the complete team yet but we are becoming one.

“The lads are full of confidence again after the FA Trophy game.

“But Bedford are always going to be a threat and we have to show them every respect.

“We have built a reputation for ourselves for passing the ball and I expect Bedford to come and make it hard for us.

“They might put five across the middle and try to stifle us, so we have to be prepared to deal with that.”

Utility man Chris Thompson and winger Enoch Boateng have both been ruled out of tomorrow’s clash with knee injuries.

Skipper Kyle Lapham and playmaker Justin McKay should be passed fit after both were rested for the midweek win over Cirencester Town in the GX Cup.