PORTLAND United boss Brendon King expects a “stronger” Tadley Calleva for their Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division contest at the Weyline Stadium tomorrow (3pm).

The Blues beat Tadley 4-1 away in late November but King has observed a concerted effort by Calleva to improve their form by bringing in new and former players.

Portland have slipped to 10th after a run of three straight defeats, while Tadley occupy 15th.

Speaking to Echosport, he said: “We always have a pretty good game against them so hopefully this will be the same again.

“It’ll be another tough one. They’ve signed a few players on recently, got a couple of players back so they’re going to be a lot stronger than what they were at the start of the season.

“However, we’ve still got a few missing but we do have Ed Bastick and Luke King back from suspension.

“We got a few more at our disposal, which is a welcome time for them to come back.”

Amid injuries and unavailabilities, Portland’s youngsters have stepped up.

King said: “We’ve had two 17-year-olds, four 18-year-olds and it’s going to benefit the club in the long term.

“We might lose a few games every now and again and things might be tough but in terms of catchment areas we’re out on a limb a little bit – we haven’t got money to entice players from other areas.”

Ryan McKechnie, Crit Clarke, Alex Halloran and Max Buckler are unavailable while captain Sean Stewart (back) is doubtful.