BRENDON King wants his men to take the bull by the horns tomorrow when they travel to table-toppers Brackley Town (3pm).

The Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division leaders have lost just one of their last nine games but with AFC Totton still breathing down their necks at the summit they will be desperate for another three points – a fact that could play right into the Terras’ hands.

King told Echosport: “Brackley have a massive budget and there is a lot of pressure on them to win the league.

“In order to do that they need to keep winning, particularly with Totton just three points behind with a game in hand, so tomorrow’s game has huge importance for them.

“In contrast, there is not so much pressure on us because everyone expects us to get beat and sometimes I like it that way.

“It means we can go there with a bit of freedom and enjoy it.

“The fact they also like to get it down and play suits us a bit more because we tend to play better against sides like that, so we will go there with a positive frame of mind and have a real go.

“We certainly won’t be flooding the midfield and setting up on the back foot, that is for sure, and as long as we get in their faces and make life difficult for them, who knows what might happen.

“I said earlier in the season that I expect them to win the title and they are certainly the best side we have faced this season, so it is a great chance for us to test ourselves.

“One day we want to be up there challenging and these types of games are the ones we all want to be involved in. Hopefully, we will rise to the occasion.”

Mark Ford’s hat-trick against Cirencester Town in midweek has made him a guaranteed starter and there is a good chance Scott Dixon could keep his place too. Meanwhile, Lewis Clarke remains a doubt due to a knee injury.

King added: “This is a game where we will find out a little more about Mark. Playing against better players is the best experience you can get and at the moment in this division there is no one better than Brackley.

“It will certainly be interesting to see how he does but there is no pressure on him at all.

“It is still early days in his development and everything at the moment is part of a steep learning curve for him.”

Commenting on Clarke and Dixon, King went on to say: “I am still waiting to hear from Lewis but hopefully he should be okay.

“As for Scott, he has been champing at the bit lately, waiting for another opportunity, and I thought he came in against Cirencester and did well.”

Alex Jeannin and Matt Groves, two of the Terras’ more experienced players, were both benched against the Centurions but there are no concerns over their fitness.

King said: “It just came down to team selection.

“We had already earmarked Mark for that game and I just felt we needed to change things up a bit.

“You want players fighting for places and it will be up to the lads that start tomorrow to earn theirs for the next game.”

The Terras currently sit 12th in the division, just five points above the drop-zone with a game in hand on nine of the teams below them.