DESPITE their poor recent run, Basingstoke Town manager Jason Bristow remains confident that his side can challenge for honours in the Conference South.

Town go into Saturday’s trip to Bishop’s Stortford (kick-off 3pm) without a win in their last five games against Conference South opposition, having failed to score a single goal in those games.

They sit 10th in the table but are just five points off the top five and remain very much in the play-off hunt.

“We are disappointed with where we are because we have not come up against any sides who we have thought are really worthy title contenders yet,” Bristow said. “It’s very close and we class ourselves as one of the top sides.

“We are not panicking but it is a big few weeks coming up and we need to pick up points if we are to maintain our challenge.

“It’s frustrating at the moment. We have a lot of possession but need to create more chances and when we do that, it is important that we do score.

“We remain confident in what we are doing and the way we play. We just need a bit more of the luck we deserve soon but we have to work hard to turn things around.”

Town are at their best when they play the game at a high tempo, something Bristow wants to see them do on a more regular basis in the coming games.

“The way that we play and train is about doing things quickly and if we do that, then at times, teams cannot live with us,” he added. “That is something we have got to do on a more regular basis and for 90 minutes.

“Teams have been making it hard for us, especially if they go ahead. It is important that we get the first goal because otherwise teams look to slow the game down and make things really difficult for us.”

Stortford go into the game seventh in the table but they too have found the going tough of late, failing to win any of their last four against Conference South sides.

“Bishop’s Stortford will be tough to beat but they have had a couple of results that they will have thought should have gone differently recently,” Bristow said. “We need to go there and put them on the back foot.”

The Basingstoke boss has a fully-fit squad to pick from going into Saturday’s game, with captain Wes Daly back in contention after missing last week’s defeat at the hands of Bromley through suspension.

“We did miss Wes, but not as much as people thought we might,” Bristow said. “We were able to control the game as we wanted and play through the midfield but we did perhaps miss Wes protecting the back four.”

Visit basingstokegazette.co.uk/sport for live text updates from Bishop’s Stortford on Saturday.