SWINDON Supermarine manager Lee Spalding says his team must impose their game on Tiverton Town this weekend or risk facing another defeat to their fellow promotion chasers at a key time.

Marine continue a tough stretch of fixtures against teams around them in the table by taking on the south Devon outfit at the Webbswood Stadium on Saturday.

The Wiltshire side is in third place of the Southern League Premier Division, two points ahead of Tiverton after securing four points from nine against Taunton Town, Chesham United and Hayes & Yeading United since the start of February.

However, the weekend’s guests have three games in hand over Spalding’s men and are heavy favourites to wrestle third place back come the end of the season.

Gaining revenge for a 2-0 defeat during a purple patch in Marine’s season has now become something of a priority if the Webbswood Stadium outfit is to stand an outside chance of getting promoted as champions.

Spalding said: “We’re at the stage now where every game becomes a massive one.

“Tiverton are obviously a good side because they’re one place below us, but they’ve got two or three games in hand.

“It’s a really important game for us and it will be important that we try and get the win.

“They’ve got some very good forward players and are a real threat going forward.

“It will be important that we defend well and look to carry an attacking threat of our own.

“We need to be able to put our game onto them – Saturday is a day where we need to impose ourselves onto them because I don’t think we did that well enough last time.”

Spalding’s men have not chained consecutive results together since mid-January – nine games ago – and will need to find some sort of consistency if they are to hang onto their valuable top-five spot.

The Marine boss is aware doing that will be far from straightforward however as every team poses a genuine threat in his eyes.

Spalding said: “There are no gimmes in this league and it’s showing that now.

“We’re at that stage of the season where you’ve got mid-table teams looking upwards and thinking that if they chain a few wins together then they might make the pay-offs.

“Then you’ve got the teams at the bottom who are fighting for their lives and scrapping for every single point.

“Then the teams at the top are looking to kick off and secure their shot at promotion.

“Every single team is playing for something still, even the teams in the bottom three or four are still competitive and can all have a real go at you.

“Tiverton will be no different because they’re at the top, and we’ll need to play well to beat them – it’s as simple as that.”