BASINGSTOKE Town captain Jay Gasson is desperate to recover from a toe injury in time to face in-form Gosport Borough in the FA Trophy on Saturday.

The south Hampshire side reached the final of the competition last season and have been in outstanding form of late, losing just two of their last 20 games.

Centre-back Gasson was forced off at half-time during his side's 2-2 draw with Sutton United last weekend after injuring his toe.

Whether he will be fit enough to play in Saturday's tie at The Soccer AM Stadium remains unclear - but Gasson will be doing everything he can to get on the pitch.

“My toe is not broken but it is bruised and swollen,” he said. “It's getting better day by day but we will have to see how it goes.

“I'm desperate to play because it's the FA Trophy. If you can get to the final, it's a great day out at Wembley for the players and supporters, and if we can put a run together, it would get some great press for the club.”

Gasson insists that the mood inside the dressing room remains positive, despite the team’s poor run of results.

The Dragons have won just one of their last nine games inside 90 minutes, a run that has seen them slip from first to seventh in the Vanarama Conference South table.

However, Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Sutton United means that they are now unbeaten in two outings and captain Gasson says that all is far from lost.

“The mood in the camp is still good,” he said. “There’s no negativity. We know that we have been up the top of the league and we think we can get there again, because anyone can beat anyone in this league.

“We haven’t been on a great run, but we’ve only been losing by the odd goal. In some games we have needed to defend a bit better and in others we may have got results if we had been a bit better going forward.”

By contrast, Saturday’s FA Trophy first round opponents Gosport Borough are in the midst of an outstanding run, losing just one of their last 20 games to move up to third in the Conference South standings.

The south Hampshire side, who visit The Soccer AM Stadium on Saturday, have one of the meanest defences in English football, conceding just 10 goals in 17 league games, while strikers Justin Bennett and Matt Paterson are also on top form.

Gasson said: “Gosport are on a great run where they seem to be winning game after game. We know what that feels like from the way we started the season and it will be a very tough game.

“They have been a good cup side over the last couple of seasons and have taken that form into the league this year. Getting to the final of the FA Trophy last year was a really big achievement and they will be desperate to go on another run in the competition.”

Town look set to be without striker Liam Enver-Marum, who is still recovering from a knee injury, but Tom Bird will return to the side after missing the Sutton game through suspension.

Midfielder Jamie Brown will have to wait until the league game between the sides in Gosport next weekend to play against his former club after picking up five yellow cards.

Assuming neither side is involved in an FA Trophy replay, Basingstoke will travel to Maidenhead United on Tuesday night, looking to end a run of four league games without a win.

“We really need to get a win in the league so we do not get too far behind the leaders,” Gasson added. “It won’t be easy at Maidenhead, but it would be really good to get a win under our belt.”