BOWERS & Pitsea manager Rob Small says he will accept no excuses when his team visit Grays Athletic tonight.

A sickness bug swept the Bowers camp last weekend, with Small’s men thumped 6-1 by Hemel Hempstead Town in the FA Cup.

Four days after that reverse, Bowers head back to Parkside to face Grays - having played their first four ‘home’ matches of this season at the venue during redevelopment work on the Len Salmon Stadium.

And Small says his team are recovered ahead of the clash.

“It [the sickness bug] is not an excuse we will be able to hide behind,” said Small. “We will select a team capable of winning the game and I expect us to be at full strength.

“We play tonight instead of Tuesday, which is good and bad. I like routine so Tuesday and Saturday works for me but, following Saturday’s defeat, it was good to train yesterday and shake off what went wrong.

“And from our perspective it is no problem going to Grays. We are familiar with the surface and it is effectively a home away from home.”

Grays are four places below Bowers in the Isthmian North, occupying 10th position at the time of press. But a win for Athletic will see them join Bowers on 11 points from the season.

And Small is not underestimating Jamie Stuart’s team.

“You have to respect how good Grays can be on their day,” he said. “They have good attacking options and are a match for anyone at their best.

“It is difficult as it’s a mindset change for us. Last year we may have been intimidated going to Grays but now we are more comfortable taking on anyone.

“But it is important we respond after Saturday’s loss. We want to finish in the top five and we need to be able to respond to adversity if we want to do that.”