HIGHWORTH Town boss Dave Webb believes a fantastic start to 2009 has set his side up nicely for a potential top-six finish in the Hellenic League Premier Division.

Unbeaten since the turn of the year, Highworth have surged up the table and are now part of a chasing pack where two points currently separate the sides placed fourth and eighth.

Tomorrow they make the trip to second-bottom Bicester Town, and Webb insists they must take their momentum into the final few months of the campaign.

He said: “We’re playing really well at the moment and the players are showing a lot of confidence and playing well as a team.

“We’ve had a very good January and hopefully that can continue for the rest of the season.

“The recent form has pushed us into that little clutch just behind the top four. There’s a lot of teams fighting for the top six, but if we can continue to pick up points like we have been then we could be in a nice position.

“I believe we’ve got the quality to finish up there. It’s a young squad now, but you can see a confidence going up with the recent run and that’s pleasing.

“It’s now just about getting the consistency into our game, staying in matches when we are not at our best, and grinding out results.

“That’s our challenge to the players and it is up to them to continue what they have done in January.”

Arthur Levett is still ruled out by a knee injury alongside long-term absentee Paul Donnelly. However, there is good news for Highworth as Mitch Wyatt, pictured, could return following an ankle complaint.

In the home dugout at the Oxford Road Sports Ground tomorrow Webb will come up against a couple of familiar faces.

And he knows exactly what will be in store for his side, admitting: “Their manager and assistant will have them really riled up because they are fighting for their lives down there.

“I know Tim Fowler (Bicester manager) and Paul Spittles (assistant manager) from having played against them and they have been around the non-league scene for many years.

“They are both real characters and it’s always nice to go and see them, but they won’t just roll over.

“You will always get a tough game, regardless of their league position, and this weekend will be no different.”

Shrivenham are also in Premier Division action as they go away to struggling Milton United, while in Division One West, Wootton Bassett travel to Cheltenham Saracens, and Purton are at Clanfield.