MANAGER Glenn Pennyfather has acknowledged Chelmsford City are playing Blue Square Bet South “catch up” after their runs in knockout competitions this season, which is why his team will be targeting three points from Saturday’s difficult trip to Bromley.

His team are 15 points behind leaders Salisbury City with three games in hand after an extended run to the Second Round of the FA Cup and a burst in the FA Trophy.

The Clarets’ boss has always maintained that league success is the team’s priority, placing huge emphasis on the Bromley encounter.

“Every match is vitally important,” he said. “We’re coming up to a batch of games where we have to target as many league points as we can get.

"We’re also one game from a Trophy quarter-final and one match from an Essex Senior Cup semi - this is a crucial stage of the season.

"Bromley is a notoriously difficult place to go but we must target three points.”

The Lilywhites are currently two places from the bottom of the table, and Glenn added: “We can’t afford to fall any further behind, so we have to go to Bromley looking for that win.

"Both teams have been buoyed by FA Trophy wins last weekend, and they recorded an excellent victory over Kidderminster Harriers and made it very difficult for them.”

Matches continue to pile-up as a result of the cup runs and recent weather conditions.

After Bromley the Clarets enter the Christmas period at home to Billericay Town on Boxing Day, followed by the hosting of Boreham Wood then the return clash at Billericay on New Year’s Day.

With the rescheduling of the Havant & Waterlooville and Farnborough home games to fit in, as well as a possible Halifax reply that Monday, these are busy times.

Glenn hopes to have David Rainford available again in central midfield after his hamstring tweak. He’d also been one of several players suffering illness in recent weeks, including central defender Kenny Clark and winger Anthony Cook, who are also both fit for selection.

David Bridges trained with the squad this week too, and Pennyfather is hopeful that the midfielder will be able to return at some point over the festive period.