MIDFIELDER Wes Daly’s incisive passing and tough tackling have quickly made him a fans’ favourite at Basingstoke Town.

The 27-year-old only joined the Camrose Blues in the summer but has already become a popular figure at the club, with knowledgeable supporters recognising him as the man who makes Town tick.

However, it seems that the feeling is mutual, with Daly, who has played at Queens Park Rangers, Grays, AFC Wimbledon, Maidenhead, Boreham Wood and Bromley in the past, clearly feeling settled already.

“I am enjoying it here,” he said. “One thing I have been saying for the past few months is that I am enjoying my football more than I have in a long time.

“In the past, I have been at places where there has been a lot of politics and it has not been as fun. There is a really good spirit here.”

Daly is the heartbeat of the Town team, a vital cog in the system as the man responsible for picking the ball up from the defence and launching attacks, utilising his fantastic range of passing.

“I like to pick the ball up and pick out a pass,” he said. “That’s the way I like to play and if it works out that I have an influence on games then fair enough.

“Having three in the middle tends to create more space. With two on two, the sides can cancel each other out but having an extra man gives us the licence to pass it around a bit more, which is what my game is about.”

It’s been a strong start to the season for Basingstoke, who go into the Christmas period in touch with the Blue Square Bet South play-off positions – and Daly is confident that he and his teammates can finish in the top five.

“Our aim is just to finish as high as possible and I think we will get into the play-offs,” he said. “There are a couple of decent sides in the league but anyone can beat anyone else so it will just be about consistency.

“Having to play catch-up in terms of games played is not ideal. We would rather have points on the board, but we have got a target and know what we need to do.”

Daly had a rare off-day as Town lost to Welling last Tuesday, but was back pulling the strings as they produced a much-improved performance to hold Chelmsford on Saturday, even scoring the equalising goal from the penalty spot.

“We were not at it against Welling to be fair, but we put that right on Saturday,” he said. “We were anticipating things rather than reacting to them in the midfield and overall we probably deserved all three points.”

Next up are two festive games against Maidenhead, one of Daly’s former sides.

On paper, with Town lying eighth and the Berkshire side struggling towards the bottom of the division, Basingstoke should be favourites to win both.

Six points is clearly what Daly is hoping for – but he admits that it will not be easy to claim two victories.

“We have two games against the same team in quick succession and if we can win both of those it will put us right up there,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy though. They will maybe not try to play as much football but they will work hard and make it difficult for us to beat them.”