BLUES’ manager Gary Bailey is backing his squad to kick on and deliver the Dorset Premier League crown, as their push for the title continues away at Sher-borne Town Reserves this evening (7.30pm).

Although Portland regained the top spot from Weymouth Reserves with a 2-2 draw against Tintinhull on Monday, Bailey’s men stuttered in their attempt to push clear of the pack over the Easter weekend by only securing one point from two fixtures.

But while the title’s destination remains in their control, the Portland manager remains calm about the task his side face.

He told Echosport: “It’s like nobody wants to go on and win it at the moment.

“Those two games were missed opportunities to relieve the pressure on us really and we want to win every game. With the results Hamworthy Rec have had as well, if we had won those two games we would have been within touching distance.

“I always knew the Easter period was going to be difficult with three games in five days but we will go up there with a good squad and hopefully get a result.”

Portland’s Adam Linaker will miss tonight’s encounter due to work commitments and with a few other members of the squad carrying knocks from their congested run of fixtures, Bailey may call up Sanchez Jansz-Baker and Shaun Bessant to the first-team squad.

He added: “It’s never easy to get over the line, if you go a goal down the pressure mounts and a little bit of desperation gets into your game, if we can get the first goal it will really settle us down.”

A win for the Blues this even-ing would give them a three- point lead at the top of the table, with two games in hand on second-placed Weymouth Reser-ves.

Blues: Weeks, Newnham, B Doidge, Mutch, Carmichael, Whyton, R Doidge, McKechnie, Halloran, Carlile, Jansz-Baker, Bessant, Smith