PAUL Braithwaite hopes a ‘professional’ approach on and off the field will help Fairford climb the Division One West table.

Fairford’s 7-2 demolition of Lambourn on Saturday made it five wins out of six in all competitions for the Cinder Lane side, standing them in good stead heading into the Christmas period.

And boss Paul Braithwaite - whose side visit Carterton in a rescheduled Hellenic League fixture this evening - has been pleased with his team’s recent progress.

“We are where we want to be coming into this important time of the year,” he said.

“It depends how much you put into it as to how much you get back. People might say it’s only Hellenic football but hopefully we can take advantage by being a bit professional.

“There’s a couple of lads going to a Christmas party next Friday and they have already said they won’t be drinking, and that’s without me even asking.

“One thing we’ve highlighted is the need to stay professional throughout the season. A lot of teams die off towards the end of the year but I think we’re carrying on quite nicely.

“Even at 4-1 on Saturday I wanted us to stay professional in what we did. A lot of teams would have been laughing after they scored, but after we scored them we celebrated in the right way.”

Braithwaite is still unhappy at the prospect of travelling to Carterton tonight, a game that is going ahead because the Oxfordshire club had players unavailable due to RAF commitments.

Fairford’s Nathan Gambling, Callum Parsons and new signing Alex Rudd are all missing as they have to work. Richie Carter and Steve Hall are struggling with injuries.

Elsewhere, Cirencester are in action in Division One South & West as they aim to bounce back from their 3-0 weekend defeat to Poole at Yate.