MATT Warner is delighted to be back in action and believes that Basingstoke Town have got a squad capable of reaching the Blue Square South play-offs.

The winger, who has been out of action for more than two months after undergoing surgery on a knee injury, made his comeback during the 1-1 draw with St Albans on Saturday.

He got through the full 90 minutes, was a constant threat down the left and scored the penalty that levelled the match in the first half.

Unfortunately, despite playing against 10 men for almost an hour, Town were unable to break down St Albans' resolute defence to claim all three points - but Warner was pleased to get through the game.

"I'm glad to be back and it was good to get through 90 minutes," he said. "The knee was fine and I just need a bit more match fitness now.

"It's been a long time and while it was disappointing not to get the result, it was nice to be out there running around again.

"It's difficult when the other team are down to ten men. They sat back and we found it difficult to break them down. We just needed to show a bit more composure in front of goal."

After getting off to a brilliant start, Basingstoke have endured a mixed couple of months - with some encouraging victories mixed in with disappointing defeats.

Warner, who is now the longest serving player at the club, thinks Frank Gray has put a strong squad together and is looking for a top five finish.

"We have got a good group and are a bit more versatile than we were last year," the 24-year-old said. "We have more strength in depth thanks to our summer signings and some of the young boys have come in, got experience and shown what they can do.

"I think we are more than capable of reaching the play-offs. We have shown that against the better sides in the league with some good results away from home. We just need to get back to scoring a few more goals and the results will come."

This weekend sees Town make the short trip to Berkshire for a match against Maidenhead United - and Warner is looking to help his team to victory with another goal.

"Maidenhead is not the nicest place to go to but we need to grind it out and hopefully we can do that," he said. "I have two goals in two starts this season and managed to score there last year so will be hoping to repeat that."