MANAGER Paul Britton has sent a defying call to the Evo-Stik Southern, West league saying Yate Town ‘are not afraid of anyone now’.

The Bluebells get their campaign back on the road again this Saturday when they tackle mid-table Cirencester Town at Lodge Road.

And Britton believes Yate are finding their feet after a much better season than those of the last few years.

The manager said: “We said at the start of the season that we need to be in the top ten of the league and I am confident we can do that.”

Britton’s side are currently 13th and only four points off tenth place – occupied by Saturday’s visitors to their stadium, Cirencester.

“We are not afraid of anyone with the squad we have got now,” added the manager. “We can beat these teams on a regular basis. We have been consistent but we have not got ourselves over the line in some matches.

“For example, Taunton Town (runaway leaders at the top of the division) came to us and got a 2-0 lead but we were as good as they were on the day but they managed the game better than us.

“They had a little bit of know-how and have been winning games on a regular basis.”

Indeed, Taunton only beat Yate by 2-0 a month ago, and Britton said success is about ‘turning those games into wins’.

The Bluebells’ policy since Britton has been in charge is styled around the young players who develop from the youth side to the senior team.

But that lead to troubles in the past, so the manager has mixed the team up a bit – and that seems to have paid dividends.

“We have got a bit of experience in the squad and we have been astute with our signings and the squad is in a much better place to where it was.

“It was never going to be a short-term project with the squad, it was always a long-term one but it’s definitely an improvement on last year.

“We have wholesale changes at the club in the last two years but the difference is we have people who want to play for us.

“We are going into matches in right shape – that’s not just on the pitch but off it.”

“I think what we have done on the pitch is that teams now know they are in for a game when they play Yate Town. They know that, when they come up against us, it will be difficult,” said the defiant Bluebells boss.