IAN Hutchinson’s plans have been thrown into disarray ahead of tomorrow’s Toolsta-tion Western League Division One fixture at rock-bottom Odd Down (3pm).

The Bridport boss has been rocked by an injury to defender Chris Herbst, who dislocated his knee while playing five-a-side football on Monday night.

Compounding this ill-timed setback is the revelation that Simon Radcliffe is unavailable for the journey to Bath, leaving Hutchinson facing a major selection quandary.

One solution is for Hutchinson himself to deputise at left-back and despite his preference for maintaining a watching brief, this may be the only viable option.

Chris Senior is still nursing a virus and like Herbst could be sidelined for up to a month, but better news concerns midfielder Russell Legg, who came through unscathed for the reserves on his comeback from illness.

When asked about the injury crisis, Hutchinson said: “It’s a shame after last week when we had 16 or 17 first-teamers available that it’s followed by a different sort of selection headache.

“But football is unpredictable and it’s up to the 11 who play to try and keep the shirt.

“There is competition for places and rivalry within the squad to grab a place in the team.”

Three successive victories make Bridport one of the league’s in-form outfits, and pitted against a side with just two victories in 20 matches should be a delectable proposition.

Rewind three months though and the Bees were in a similar position before Elmore – who at the time were bottom – soundly beat them to scupper a five-match unbeaten sequence.

Aware of the parallels, Hutchin-son’s primary task is to ensure Bridport’s notorious inconsistency does not resurface.

He added: “On paper it’s a game we are expected to win but if the players go in with that mentality they’ll be in for a shock.

“We need to approach it with the attitude we had against Portishead to continue the good form we’ve shown.”

Hutchinson reiterated his target of a top-half finish and victory on Saturday could leapfrog his side into such a position for the first time this season.

Bees: (from) Cuff, Hayter, Hutchinson, Lock, C Clarke, Fellows, Legg, Wise, Condliffe, A Clarke, B Clarke, Morgan, Evans.