Play-off bid starts here (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Play-off bid starts here

8:00am Thursday 9th February 2012

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FRANK Gray has set his sights on victory at Havant and Waterlooville as Basingstoke Town look to reignite their Blue Square Bet South play-off hopes.

Town have been out of sorts recently, winning just two of their last nine matches, but they remain in play-off contention – seven points behind fifth-placed Sutton with games in hand on all of the sides above them.

However, they need to start picking up points soon – and Gray said his side will be looking to begin a good run by beating struggling Havant and Waterlooville on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

“We have got to set our stall out to be as positive as possible and try to win the game,” he said.

“It would certainly be nice to go a few games undefeated now, because it would put us in a good position.”

One of Town’s main problems of late has been a lack of goals.

They have scored just twice in their last four games, finding the net only nine times in their last nine outings – despite operating the same formation that had them scoring for fun back in the autumn.

“It’s the same formation we were playing when we had a really good run,” Gray said. “We were scoring a lot of goals in that period and sometimes you have to rely on what gives you success.

“We will be looking to play higher up the pitch though. Last week at Farnborough, we did not get the wide players high enough up the pitch in support of Rob Gradwell and that is something we will be looking to change at Havant.

“Playing 3-5-2 is an option we have available to us but it depends on how the opposition line up. There is no point playing 3-5-2 if the opposition only have one striker.

“The last time we had a chance to play 3-5-2 was against Bromley and it worked well but we have to look at how Havant line up because we want to be as positive as possible.”

This season has been a tough one for Havant, who are generally seen to have underachieved and lie 16th in the table, not too far clear of the relegation zone.

They have picked up a bit of late but were beaten 3-2 away at Eastleigh on Tuesday night.

Gray does not expect an easy match, he believes his side are capable of coming away with the points.

“A lot of people would have said that Havant were a team to watch but it has not happened for them,” he said.

“They might have better players than the league suggests, but results do not lie and they are where they are for a reason.

“On paper, it should be a tough encounter but other teams have gone there and beaten them – and we will be looking to do the same thing.”

Gray will be without suspended duo Wes Daly and David Pratt – but the Town boss is hoping that striker Tim Sills’ knee injury will improve enough for him to play.

However, Angus MacDonald’s loan spell has ended and Town’s hopes of extending his stay at The Camrose look set to fail.

The Reading man is expected to sign on loan for League Two outfit Torquay later today, leaving Gray short of defensive cover.

Town’s league match against Truro City, which was called off due to a frozen pitch at The Camrose last Saturday, has been rearranged for Tuesday, March 20.