FRANK Gray says his Basingstoke Town side should try to enjoy playing in front of a big crowd at Dartford.

The Camrose club will travel around the M25 to face the Kent side tonight(kick-off 7.45pm), with a crowd of more than 1,000 expected at Princes Park.

Gray said: “There will be a big crowd and good atmosphere, which hopefully the players will enjoy. It is a nice place to play so hopefully we can make the most of that.”

After a slow start to the season, Dartford have been playing well in recent weeks, losing just one of their last nine.

However, they lost 4-0 to struggling Hampton and Richmond in their last home game and Gray wants his side to end a run of five Blue Square South matches without a win.

“We need to build on Saturday’s draw and both sides are desperate for points,” Gray said. “Dartford have been going well recently but we have to go there, be positive and try to win the game.

“I think a lot of people are surprised that Dartford are so low down the table. When they came up I think they had one of the biggest budgets and they were expected to be higher but there is still a long way to go.”

Gray says there is a slight chance that left-back Matt Finlay could return after an instep injury – but fellow defenders Robert Rice and Ross Adams remain out.

Joe Dolan looks set to continue playing on dual registration from Kingstonian, while Gray admitted that he put in a seven day approach for Fleet Town winger Darren Wheeler towards the end of last week. However, he is not interested in Woking striker Dave Gilroy, who has left Kingfield after a difficult season.

“If we are able to keep the three lads we have got up front fit we should be alright,” Gray added. “We will rotate them but there are good combinations there and we need to keep things fresh with a lot of midweek games coming up.”

Log on to basingstokegazette.co.uk/sport for live updates from Dartford tonight.