Basement boys must be beaten – Burton

8:06am Friday 29th February 2008

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DORCHESTER boss Chris Burton will be telling his men "it is time to stand up and be counted" ahead of tomorrow's relegation crunch clash at bottom club Devizes in Southern Counties South (2.30pm).

The county town side lie just one point above the basement boys and are well aware that a positive result followed by another victory over Corsham on March 8 are vital if they are to avoid the drop.

Burton said: "It is a got to win game there is no doubt about that. If we want to stand any chance of staying up we need to win the next two games and there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to achieve that.

"The lads have played well in the last couple of games and have been coming into form, we will have the strongest we can have barring the injuries we have, and we have won at Devizes on our last two visits so there is no excuses."

The clash between the two clubs at Coburg Road earlier in the season ended in an 8-5 victory for Dorchester and with Devizes having suffered a 53-5 hammering at the hands of Frome last Saturday, Burton's men must fancy their chances.

Daffyd Wright, Damien Weston, George Damen and Matt Chalker remain long-term absentees for the county town side.

Weymouth skipper Tony Worle is confident that his men can capture victory against West-bury at Monmouth Road but his side will not be taking anything for granted.

Hooker Richard Barclay has been ruled out for the Seasiders for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder but James Ford should return for the Dorset & Wilts One South clash after a month out.

Worle said: "We put 30 points on the board at their place earlier in the season so we feel we have a good chance of winning tomorrow.

"They are a couple of hours away and do not seem to travel well, and the fact we put on our best performance of the season so far in the win over leaders Swanage & Wareham II in our last game, means we should be full of confidence. However, we still won't be taking anything for granted because they are a big, tough side."

Weymouth's aim is to hold on to third place and with Westbury just two points adrift of them victory is vital if they are to achieve that target.

Bridport and Puddletown will lock horns at Brewery Field in a mid-table battle in Dorset & Wilts One South tomorrow (2.30pm).

The Blues will be looking forward to this one having beaten Warminster and Westbury in two of their last three games but their opponents will also be confident despite losing 17-12 at North Dorset II in their last outing.

Only six points separate the two sides in the league and a tight encounter is expected.

Swanage & Wareham will be looking to keep up the pressure on league leaders Chippenham when they host Tadley in South West Two East (2.30pm).