JON UNDERWOOD has praised his disciplined Slough Town side and has revealed their ambitions for promotion this season.

Slough beat Leamington 2-0 at Arbour Park on Tuesday evening where Gavin James and James Dobson both made the scoresheet in a ninth consecutive win.

The Rebels are showing no signs of slowing down, buoyed on by bumper crowds in their new home, and leaving Underwood gunning for promotion.

“I’m thrilled we could beat a strong team like Leamington. We can safely say that they are one of our rivals for promotion, which is our aim,” Slough joint-manager told the Observer.

“It was a tough game and we had to defend very well, particularly in the second-half when they through everything at us.

“I thought we did brilliantly. There were last-ditch challenges and people throwing their bodies in front of the ball, which is what you need to do.

“We’ve got a phenomenal defensive record, conceding five in 11 league game.

“We edged ahead and deserved it [the win] in a hard-fought game between two good sides.”

Commenting on promotion, Underwood said: “That is what we’re trying to do. We didn’t go around shouting about it in the summer but the players we’ve brought in are not people who want to sit mid-table.

Slough Observer:

PHOTO: James Dobson celebrates his goal in Slough Town's 2-0 win against Leamington on Tuesday.

“It would be a big improvement from where we have been in the last two years but we’ve made the right changes to our squad. It’s realistic.

“Coming here [Arbour Park] has made a huge difference. The type of football we play is totally different to what we could at Holloway’s Park.

“We’ve got that winning habit at the moment. It’s not going to go on forever and we re going to have a bad spell, but for now we’re putting good distance between us and sixth place.

“Some of our rivals are now 10 or 12 points behind at this early stage so we’re in a great position.”

Slough host National League South outfit Dartford in the FA Cup third qualifying round this Saturday (3pm), and Underwood insists the pressure is off his side.

“Nobody expects us to win,” he said. “We think we can have a real go but we know what a tough team they are. Dartford are a big, strong, experienced side who are going well at the minute.”

“We’ve spoken to teams like Maidenhead, who have played Dartford this year, and watched some highlights. We know what we’re up against. It will be a big physical test. They’ve got some big lads and are a good side.”

"But, National League South teams went out in the last round to lower level teams, so there's no reason why we cant do it. We are confident."