DIRECTOR of football Luther Blissett is hoping it will be third time lucky when Burnham take on Bracknell Town in the Hellenic Premier Division at The Gore this Saturday (3pm).

The Blues have twice lost to Bracknell this season, 5-2 in the Hellenic Cup in early September, and 2-0 in the Floodlit Cup one month later.

“We’ve certainly improved since we last played them,” said Blissett. “It’s going to be another hard game for us, but hopefully we can get at least a point, or even three, which would be fantastic.”

Blissett was waiting for fitness checks at training sessions before naming his squad.

“We have a couple of defenders nursing injuries but the rest of the side should all be fit,” he added.

Since last visiting The Gore, Bracknell have gone from strength to strength and risen to fourth in the table with games in hand over the top three.

However, their manager and former Blue Mark Tallentire, will be taking nothing for granted.

“The last time we went to Burnham they looked a much improved side compared to early in the season,” he said. “They’ve had some decent results recently so we certainly won’t be treating them lightly.”

Burnham Under-18s were edged out 3-2 by Ascot United in their Allied Counties League match at The Gore on Monday.

An entertaining last 30 minutes saw the hosts twice hit back to equalise, only to be beaten by a late penalty.

“It was a good performance from the boys,” commented Blissett. “It wasn’t that long ago when they were playing park football on a Sunday. Now they are playing under floodlights at a proper stadium against good quality opposition.

“I'm very pleased with their progression, as much as I am with the senior side.”