EAST Thurrock United will be taking tonight’s Essex Senior Cup fourth round tie with Waltham Abbey ‘very seriously’.

That is the view of manager John Coventry, who has watched his side win three matches on the spin to return to form having won none of the previous eight.

Rocks host the Isthmian North outfit tonight, confident of extending the run, having downed play-off hopefuls Welling United 3-0 in the National League South on Saturday.

And Coventry said he was unlikely to make any changes to his team, as a number of first-team players continue to be unavailable.

“We were excellent on Saturday,” said Coventry, whose side made the final of the competition last season. “We had a depleted squad but everybody was fantastic and the gameplan was carried out to perfection.

“There were some excellent performances throughout the side and Sam Higgins was excellent. He led the line and should have had a hat-trick.

“I said to the boys before the game that if we won a few in a row then we would be back in the mix but if you lose a couple then you are looking at the other end of the table. It is that sort of league this year.

“It’s a game we will be taking seriously,” he added. “The Essex Senior Cup is a competition we did well in last year and sometimes you need these competitions to give players minutes.

“For me it is a chance to continue the good work we demonstrated on Saturday.”

Rocks will welcome goalkeeper Lukas Lidakevicius back to the team, after he missed the last seven matches with a virus.

On-loan Ipswich Town stopper Harry Wright returns to parent club Ipswich Town and Coventry praised his impact, after a sticky start.

“Lukas will come back which is great for us,” said Coventry. “Harry Wright has gone back and he has got better and better and it was good for him to get some minutes. He’s a good lad and I will follow his career with interest.”