James Collins concedes Faversham will start their Boxing Day encounter at home to Herne Bay as underdogs - but insists he is confident Town can get a result.

After a 12-day break, the Lilywhites, currently 16th in the Isthmian South East table, will return to action when they host eighth-placed Herne Bay.

Town manager Collins will hope to see his side get back to winning ways after a 3-1 loss at Burgess Hill, on December 14, last time out.

He said: “We will have had 12 days off by then, won’t we? So, we are looking forward to it, really.

“We have worked on a couple of things.

“We had a couple of new ideas after the Burgess Hill game, so we are looking forward to seeing how (using those ideas) plays out on Boxing Day.”

Bay are only four points adrift of the play-offs, with a game in hand on fifth-placed Ashford, with ex-Faversham men Ryan Cooper, Kyron Lightfoot, Danny Lawrence, Kieron Campbell and Bola Dawodu among Ben Smith’s ranks.

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“They have some good players and Ben is a good manager,” said Collins.

“He did very well with Canterbury, helping to get them to the FA Vase semi-final last season.

“So, we are expecting a tough game on Boxing Day.

“(But) we see it as a cup game, really. They sometimes can spring surprises.

“I’m sure Herne Bay will go into the game as favourites at the moment, but we feel confident of getting a result at home, hopefully, in front of a good crowd.”

Having made his Faversham debut in the defeat at Burgess Hill, former Cardiff midfielder Solomon Taiwo could be in line for his home bow.

On the 34-year-old, Collins said: “He will be in the squad. He played well (against Burgess Hill).

“I would never give away who is starting, but he did well on his debut and I would expect him to feature.”

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