Gray plans to home in on the play-offs (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Gray plans to home in on the play-offs

8:00am Friday 5th February 2010 in

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FRANK Gray says that defending properly is the key to Basingstoke Town turning their poor home form around.

The Town manager has seen his team produce a string of fine performances away from home but they have struggled at the Camrose, winning just one of their last eight and only managing to score 13 goals in 12 games.

Indeed, while only three sides in the Blue Square South have a better away record than Basingstoke, just four have collected less points at home.

Six of Town's next eight games are at the Camrose, beginning with the visit of struggling Hampton and Richmond on Saturday (kick-off 3pm), and Gray is aware that his side's home form needs to improve if they are to challenge for the play-offs.

"We have got to make sure we perform at home and it is hard to put your finger on why we have not been so far this season," he said. "We do tend to counter attack away from home but when you look back at the Bromley game we took it to them and were unlucky to lose.

"The big problem has been giving away sloppy goals. If we can defend well it will give us half a chance."

Basingstoke have had problems defensively throughout the season and Tuesday night's 2-0 win at Bishop's Stortford was only the second time they have kept a clean sheet in 19 league outings.

However, they have looked far more assured since Richard Barnard took over in goal and seem to have turned things around after a bad spell at the end of last year.

"We ironed out a few things after we had a sticky spell and talked about how we have to go about things," he said. "We have put that into the games now and will see where it takes us.

"We have a lot of games coming up against the teams in and around us so we have got to take the last two performances and reproduce them."

While Basingstoke will go into Saturday's game high in confidence after winning their last two, Hampton and Richmond have failed to win any of their last nine, losing seven.

Alan Devonshire's side reached the play-off final last year but are embroiled in a relegation scrap this time around and have had to release several players to balance the books.

"It will certainly not be an easy game because you look at their squad and wonder why they are where they are," Gray warned. "They could turn things around at any time and I just hope they do not do it on Saturday."

Town will be without Robert Rice, who looks set to miss the whole of February due to a haematoma, while Gary Frewen is a slight doubt after picking up a knock on Tuesday.

However, Matt Finlay is expected to recover from illness in time to play, while Jide Ogunbote's suspension has come to an end, giving Gray a tough decision to make on the right wing, where Jahson Downes impressed against Stortford.

David Pratt and Mitchell Bryant have been playing well together and Gray has been boosted by the news that Bryant's loan from Reading has been extended until the end of the season.