BASINGSTOKE Town manager Jason Bristow says his players are itching to right a few wrongs after falling to a disappointing defeat away at Eastbourne Borough on Saturday.

The Dragons lost 3-0 in Sussex, missing the chance to move up to second in the Vanarama Conference South table.

They were unable to bounce back on Tuesday as their home game against fellow high-flyers Bromley, which was due to take place then, has been rearranged for next Saturday due to Bath City’s continued involvement in the FA Trophy.

As a result, Town now face three huge home games in the space of seven days before travelling to leaders Boreham Wood at the end of the month.

That run of fixtures begins with a visit from Gosport Borough, another side very much involved in the promotion shake-up, on Saturday (3pm).

In-form Weston-super-Mare then visit The Soccer AM Stadium on Tuesday night, four days before the big showdown with Bromley.

Bristow said: “We now have three really big home games, followed by a trip to the leaders, so there are some huge matches coming up.

“It was frustrating to lose at Eastbourne, but there has been a positive reaction from the players. They are desperate to get back and put things right.”

Basingstoke’s home form is pretty good, but statistics show that they find goals harder to come by at The Soccer AM Stadium than they do on the road.

“Our home form certainly isn’t bad, but we are not scoring as many goals as we are on our travels, when teams come on to us a bit more,” Bristow added.

“It’s something that we are aware of, but we just need to stay patient, because one goal is enough if we can keep a clean sheet.”

Town and Gosport are no strangers to one another, having met three times in the space of a week just before Christmas, with all three games ending level after 90 minutes.

“After the way the games went before Christmas, people might be expecting a draw, but it’s the start of a big run of games and we want to get off on the right foot,” he said. “It’s important that we do not get beaten, but it’s a big game to win and getting the victory would set us up going into some massive games.”

Three days later, Town will be in action at The Soccer AM Stadium again, hosting Weston, who sit 17th in the table. However, they have been playing well of late, winning four of their last five games.

Bristow said: “They have done really well since appointing a new manager and we cannot underestimate them because of their league position. They are in really good form.”

Town will be without defender Jay Gasson and midfielder Simon Dunn for both games, while Jamie Brown is waiting to see a specialist and could need an operation on his groin. Striker Lloyd Macklin is also a major doubt for Saturday’s game after taking a blow to the ribs at Eastbourne.

Visit basingstokegazette.co.uk/sport for live text coverage of both games