BRAINTREE TOWN manager Alan Devonshire has bemoaned the "strange" Conference fixture list for sending his part-time side long distances in midweek games.
Devonshire's men faced a trip to Wiltshire on Tuesday night this week – drawing 1-1 – and next week have a mammoth journey to north Wales, where they take on Wrexham.
And with a trip to Halifax also scheduled for a midweek, Devonshire admits it is tough for his part-time side.
"I find it strange," he said. "We were at Salisbury this week and then we're also at Halifax and Wrexham on Tuesday nights, and then the Tuesday night games at our place we've got Welling, Luton and Woking visiting.
"I find it strange that we played at Dartford on a Saturday and we could have played them in midweek and done Wrexham on a Saturday.
"But we're a small club and we have to put up with what we're given. The boys know from the start of the season so they'll be fine."
Sean Marks netted the leveller for the Iron at newly-promoted Salisbury, and Devonshire was pleased with the character from his side – and how things are shaping up so far this season.
"It was a decent result," he added. "It was probably a game we should have won, we had plenty of possession but after being 1-0 down we showed a lot of character and bossed the game.
"We've been quite solid. I think there's more to come from us, but we are tighter defensively. We move on to the next one and look forward to Saturday."
Behind that solid defence is goalkeeper Nathan McDonald, and the youngster has been rewarded with a call up for the England C team, having played in Latvia earlier this month.
And Devonshire added: "To be fair Nathan hasn't had a lot to do, it's everyone. It's not just Nathan, it's everyone.
"He's enjoyed that England experience, he's only a young boy and that's a good thing for him with England C, it's under 23s and there's not many keepers that young."
Southport visit the Amlin Stadium on Saturday, and Devonshire is expecting a tough clash – as always.
He said: "They lost at Lincoln on Tuesday but it'll be tough – every game is tough in this league, if you're not on it, you're going to get beat.
"We've got to make sure we're bang on it on Saturday and hopefully we can get the result we want."
Devonshire will be without striker Dan Holman for that clash, and is hoping to bring in a new frontman to bolster his ranks – although he has been impressed with Liam Enver-Marum and Jordan Cox in recent weeks.
He added: "Dan's going to be at least another two or three weeks so we're looking to maybe get another striker in on loan.
"Liam and Jordan have had their opportunity so we'll just have to see how it goes."
