GARY Bailey is keeping calm over his side’s top-of-the-table battle at Amesbury Town in Sydenhams Wessex League Division One, insisting “there is still no pressure” on Portland United.

It’s the Blues against the Blues at Bonnymead Park tomorrow (3pm), and a Portland win would see the island outfit stretch their advantage over title rivals Amesbury to 10 points.

With that in mind, Grove Corner boss Bailey has full faith in his side putting on a fluent performance.

He said: “We will go up there full of confidence and we know if we perform on the day then they will have to perform very well to get something out of it.

“There is still no pressure on us, we are not putting any added pressure on ourselves, only the pressure we put on ourselves to perform properly.”

Portland are no strangers to crunch clashes at the top of the table having contested for Dorset Premier League dominance for a number of years before making the step up the footballing pyramid in the summer.

And the island chief believes that involvement will stand his side in good stead this weekend.

He added: “The players aren’t on any unfamiliar ground.

“We have an experienced dressing room. Even though it’s a fairly young one as far as age goes, they have been there and experienced being at the top of a league.

“All that experience stands you in good stead when these type of games come around and I have faith in the boys to approach it properly.

“We are just going to treat it like any other game, and that’s no disrespect to Amesbury or any other team we play.”

Asked who he thought were the favourites for the contest, Bailey said: “They are at home and will be confident with that advantage, but both teams are on great runs.

“It’s a flip of a coin when you get two of the top sides playing each other, like in any division.”

Portland’s Lewis Whyton is expected to be available after being troubled by a knee problem, while Alex Halloran and Ross Doidge, who were nursing slight injuries are likely to feature.

The Blues are also set to add Jamie Symes to their squad but he will not be available this weekend.