BASINGSTOKE RFC may have won four of their first five games this season, but head coach Will Croker insists that there is still room for improvement.

’Stoke extended their winning run to three games with an impressive 60-15 victory over visiting Gosport and Fareham on Saturday. Croker was happy with the result and felt his side played well in patches, but he admits that they will have to up their game for Saturday’s trip to Brighton.

“Saturday’s win was lovely and we played well in parts but that is now consigned to history and we have to focus on this week,” he said. “We know that we are playing good rugby but there are still areas that we are not totally happy with.

“One of those is our defence. We are relying on our recovery defence rather than playing attacking defence. We want to be more aggressive when defending.

“We also made a lot of mistakes against Gosport, but we are scoring plenty of points and winning games, so we cannot complain too much.”

Basingstoke’s next opponents, Brighton, are known for trying to play an expansive, passing game, but they have lost their last two outings, going down 24-20 away at Sutton and Epsom last weekend.

They are yet to win at home this season, but Croker is expecting a difficult game.

“Brighton are a club with real ambition and are well coached, so we have to go there and be on our mettle,” he said. “They have great pedigree and are desperate to try and establish themselves as the dominant force in the area, investing a good amount of money over the last couple of years.”

Croker is hoping that centre Matt Guilfoyle will be fit to play, despite having to leave the pitch with a groin problem after scoring his second try against Gosport, while several other players are due to return to the team.

Captain Freddie Gleadowe turned out for the second string last week and could be in contention for a place, while prop Ollie John, second row Adam McDonald, centre David Byett and winger Gavin Dampies are also back in the frame.