BASINGSTOKE Town will be looking to build on their hard-earned victory over Bath City when they travel to Chelmsford City on Saturday (3pm).

Jason Bristow’s men sit third in the Vanarama Conference South table after Tuesday’s 3-2 win over visiting Bath. They need a dramatic slip-up from leaders Bromley if they are to get themselves back into the title hunt, but a play-off place remains a very real possibility.

At the moment, it looks like it will be four out of five for the play-off spots, with Town competing against Boreham Wood, Whitehawk, Gosport Borough and Havant and Waterlooville for the chance to extend their season.

Chelmsford are among the teams a few points behind, so a win in Essex on Saturday would put further daylight between the sides.

Bristow said: “They’ll be looking at the game as a must-win if they want to reach the play-offs, while it’s a good chance for us to put some more daylight between us and the chasing pack.

“We are third at the start of March, which is a fantastic position, the players are positive and we are looking forward to the next game. Tuesday’s night’s result gave us a big lift and we’ll be looking to build on it come Saturday.

“We have 10 days off after Saturday, and we want to go into that break with a win.”

Chelmsford have had an up-and-down season. They sit eighth in the table, with an outside chance of reaching the play-offs, despite conceding more goals than everyone bar the bottom two.

They have lost their last three and have a mixed home record, but they beat Basingstoke 2-1 when the sides met at The Soccer AM Stadium in November, and Bristow is expecting a hard afternoon.

“Going to Chelmsford will be tough,” he said. “They are a hard-working side and beat us here so we will go there expecting a difficult match.

“The pitch might also be difficult, so it’s going to be one of those games where we have to dig deep, work hard and try to make sure that our quality shines through.”

Town will be without the suspended Nathan Smart, while Jamie Brown remains sidelined after a groin operation. However, centre-back and captain Jay Gasson could return to action after almost three months out with a broken toe, while Lloyd Macklin and Manny Williams, who were forced out of the Bath game with minor problems, should be fit.