SWINDON Supermarine manager Lee Spalding says it will be vital for his players to arrive with the correct mentality for tonight’s Southern League Premier fixture against Yate Town if they are to avoid falling to the same fate as several other promotion-chasing sides.

Yate – despite loitering narrowly above the drop zone – have beaten Chesham United and Tiverton Town this season while the Somerset side has also done the double over Taunton Town by an aggregate score of 8-1.

Spalding therefore feels he has every right to warn his team about the dangers of arriving at the Jelf Stadium with anything less than 100 per cent effort on their minds.

He said: “Yate have got three players who are on loan from Bristol City – a couple of wide players who are very lively.

“But it’s a notoriously difficult place to go.

“They’ve got a good habit of turning over the top teams at their place, so if we turn up just thinking it’s going to happen for us, we’ll come unstuck.

“I think that’s what has happened to a few other big sides that have gone there.

“It will be about our mentality first and foremost – if the players go out there to work hard and put on a performance, I’m confident we’ll get a win.”

Despite not playing at the weekend due to a waterlogged pitch at the Webbswood Stadium, two other games in the division did go ahead – one of which ended in a very pleasing draw for Spalding and co.

League leaders Chesham drew 2-2 to struggling Harrow Borough and extended their lead to seven points.

But that advantage can be significantly reduced if Marine were to win both of their games in hand, though Spalding knows there is a long way to go in the season still.

He said: “We’ve got a couple of games in hand over Chesham now, so if we win both of them then we’ll only be a point behind.

“There’s nothing in it really, but we’ve still got to win those two games.

“Gosport Borough won 2-1 with a 90th minute winner, and that puts them in quite a threatening position as well.

“They’re throwing a lot of money at it – financially, they are really pushing to try and get into one of those top-five positions.

“It’s really, really competitive, even to get into the play-offs.

“It’s just important for us that we focus on what we’re doing and just try and win as many games as we can from now until the end of the season.”