Horndean told to forget about thumping win and prepare for tough challenge at table-toppers Bashley

The Deans were rampant as they recorded a first league win of the campaign, putting seven past Hamble Club in a resounding 7-0 triumph at Five Heads Park.

It was a welcome boost for Horndean, who had failed to win their opening two fixtures this term.

But Birmingham stressed his squad must now forget about that massive victory and focus on producing the goods again - starting at table-toppers Bashley on Saturday.

Horndean head to the league leaders, who have won all three matches to collect nine points so far.

Birmingham acknowledged his team face a tall order to come away with anything but he is looking forward to seeing how they fare against tough opposition.

He said: ‘Let’s not get carried away, it’s one game, we had two games before where we didn’t really set the world on fire.

‘Let’s just remember you can get a good slap round the face at any time and get brought back down to earth.

‘They’re flying, they’re a good side, Bashley. They’ve made some good signings and we all know if you stand off Bashley they’re going to hurt you.

‘It’s going to be a very, very difficult, if you stand off them they’ll hurt you, but we know it’s going to be a very entertaining game as well.

‘They’ve just picked up nine from nine (points) and they’ve just gone to Bracknell and lost 1-0.’

Horndean's win over Hamble was their first fixture in 16 days after two consecutive Covid-19 call-offs.

They are now faced with two games in the space of just three days with a home meeting against Amesbury scheduled for bank holiday Monday.

Birmingham admitted he faces a dilemma over how to use his players across the busy bank holiday and moving forward given the lack of football played at Wessex League level in the past two seasons.

He said: ‘We had good energy levels as well (against Hamble) - it’s something we hadn’t done in the first couple of games.

‘Maybe the Covidgate (two recent call offs) other the two games helped us get back on the training pitch and really work hard on how we want to play and press teams.

‘You’re going to be looking at players playing more games this season then what they did in the past two seasons combined, so it is going to take its toll. It’s going to be very, very tiring, not just for the players, but for managers and backroom staff as well.’

Jack Lee is due to make a training return tonight but is unlikely to be fit to feature over the weekend.

Jake Stubbington remains sidelined while Ryan Helmkay is unavailable this weekend.