WESTBURY United will target the prized scalp of Wiltshire rivals Bradford Town on Boxing Day in the hope it can ignite a positive run of results after the turn of the year.

United were beaten for the fourth Toolstation League Premier Division game in succession on Saturday as they went down 1-0 at home to Cribbs.

The Meadow Lane side are due back in action on Wednesday night and face a long trek to Plymouth Parkway, who are targeting three points themselves to climb to the top of the table.

Despite having no game on Saturday, it is Bradford who head the standings after last weekend’s round of fixtures.

With Westbury facing mid-table mediocrity at present, joint-manager Joe Kirkpatrick has set his sights on toppling the high-flying Bobcats in their post-Christmas duel and starting a run up the table over the second half of the season.

Kirkpatrick, who manages the team alongside his father Neil, said: “Bradford are flying at the moment and they have got a decent side.

"It will be a tough game on Boxing Day but it’s one we will look forward to.

“I think they were the only team to beat us twice last season, so we are certainly going to try to put that right.

“A lot of the players know each other and will have either played with or against each other for years.

“It is a derby and it will be a good crowd too, so it should make for a good game.

“It will be difficult but if we could get a result against them, it could hopefully kick-start our season.”

Westbury have a bit of a break before the Bradford battle as they have no game this Saturday, while the Bobcats return to action with a trip to struggling Wellington.

Prior to their midweek trip to Plymouth, Kirkpatrick felt his team were hard done by in their narrow defeat to Cribbs last weekend as they should have had something to show for their efforts.

“We felt there was something there for us,” said Kirkpatrick.

“It has been the story of our season so far, really. We played well and we were probably the better team on the day, but we just didn’t make the most of our chances when they came along.

"But it is not just down to the strikers. Everyone needs to do their part.

"The boys are working hard but the luck is going against us at the moment.

"That is probably the most frustrating thing, the fact that we are not playing poorly.

"We are not getting the results we deserve at the moment but the performances have been good enough to suggest we can turn the corner soon.”