SHRIVENHAM boss Gareth Davies is cautious of rustiness affecting his team as they return to action in the Hellenic League Premier Division for the first time since March 25 on Saturday.

Shrivvy continue a run of four consecutive away games to end their season as they travel to south Gloucestershire to face in-form Tuffley Rovers.

Despite sitting down in 16th in the table, Rovers have claimed 11 points from their previous six games and Davies knows their hosts are perfectly capable of putting an end to Shrivenham’s superb 16-match unbeaten run in the league.

But the jovial Barrington Park boss is optimistic that the extended time off will have done his players some good in terms of recovery as they look to remain unbeaten for the remainder of the season.

Davies said: “It’ll just be nice to play football again, if I’m totally honest.

“The last game we played was against Reading City and that was a Monday night, nearly three weeks ago.

“It’s good to have a break in one way because the players get a bit of a rest, but in another way, we want to be consistent and we want to be playing games of football.

“We’ve got another game on Monday night too, so it goes from one extreme to the other.

“The last couple of weeks has been a bit disappointing in terms of not playing much football, but it is what it is, and we have to get on with it.”

Shrivenham have not tasted defeat in any competition since January, but face a stiff test against a team that Davies believes are in a false position in the table.

He said: “We’ve been so consistent of late and this break has interrupted the rhythm a little bit, but that’s no excuse.

“We’re expecting a very difficult game on Saturday because Tuffley are flying at the moment.

“I know their position is a little bit false – they’re picking up some decent points against good teams, so we need to be very aware of that and do things properly.

“We’ve tried to do little bits to keep ticking over, but there’s nothing like a matchday.”

Elsewhere, Royal Wootton Bassett Town have no remaining fixtures left this season, and Jody Bevan’s Fairford Town make the trip to Berkshire to take on Binfield.

In Hellenic Division One West, title challengers Malmesbury Victoria and bottom of the table New College have a weekend off while Pewsey Vale host Thornbury Town at the Recreation Ground looking to end their three-game winless run.