Loxwood boss Walsh: 'We're confident that if we put out our strongest team we can give anyone a game'

Haven sit second in the league, six points off top-of-the-table Chichester City with a game in hand, having amassed 61 points from 27 games.

The Fort Road-outfit went on a 14-game unbeaten run in the league, stretching from October 20 to January 26. Recent results, however, have seen Newhaven only managing to take four points from 12.

Haven's latest result saw them fall 1-0 at home to mid-table Hassocks and this, coupled with a marked improvement in the Magpies' display, has given Walsh an air of optimism.

He said: "I think our performances give me confidence because we've been playing really well. We know we can compete against these teams and we did, even though we had our mini-blip.

SEE ALSO Loxwood told to 'keep plugging away' after Lingfield win sees them out of the drop zone | Loxwood blow three-goal first-half lead after 'silly ten minutes' in draw at Hassocks | Walsh reflects on 'really difficult but very enjoyable' first three months in charge of Loxwood"We played a lot of the top-six teams and we competed well but we were on the wrong side of the results each time. Hopefully we can turn that around on Saturday.

"I know Newhaven are a good side, and we know where their threats are. But, as we saw on Saturday, Hassocks have gone and picked up a 1-0 win so we believe we can get a result."

Newhaven forward Lee Robinson has hit an astonishing 55 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions this season. The Haven hotshot leads the Premier Division scoring charts with 37 goals, 20 goal ahead of the second-highest marksman, Hassocks' Phil Johnson.

Walsh recognises the obvious goal threat of Robinson but was keen to stress that Newhaven had players, some of them he had previously worked with, that could cause the Magpies problems.

He added: "Credit to Lee. He scores a lot, and it's not just for one season. He just keeps on doing it every single season.

"It's not just him though. They have other good players in that team and I was lucky enough to work with some of them back in my Lewes under-18s days, like Matt Gunn and Rhys Smith.

"I know that they've got some very good players there but we've got really good players as well."

Loxwood have a clean bill of health going into their home fixture against Haven. With the luxury of a full compliment of players to choose from, Walsh has now set his sights on a settled squad as he feels his best XI 'can give anyone a game'.

The Magpies boss said: "We want to consistently have the same team week-in week-out. We're confident that if we put out our strongest team we can give anyone a game.

"Previously we've had a few bits of rotation and changing around, which has been difficult, but over the last two games we've put the same team out. We'll be trying to do that for the remainder of the season."