FRANKLYN Clarke insists the Blues must continue to build on last week’s 1-0 win over Amesbury Town.

New Portland boss Clarke oversees his first away assignment at Cowes Sports in the Sydenhams Wessex Premier League tomorrow (3pm).

Cowes are currently bottom, with Portland 17th, and Clarke is eager to see progress in his young squad, telling Echosport: “The same as what we’ve seen Saturday, what we’ve worked on in training.

“We’re a new group, we’ve got a lot of new players in and it will take time for the team to come together.

“Saturday was a good start and now we need to build on that.”

Clarke added Marcus Smith from Swanage plus Dorchester Under-23 stars Ben Fowles, Lewis Hanratty and Oli Lowes to Portland’s ranks in midweek.

And a ferry trip to the Isle of Wight will help team bonding, Clarke believes.

“I’ve done it before as a player and it’s a good thing for us,” he explained.

“We’ve got a new group so it will give a chance to the lads to get to know each other a bit better.”

Sean Stewart is back at Portland but is out with an ankle injury.