BLUE Newton wants Southend Saxons to make the most of the ‘massive opportunity’ facing them this weekend.

Saxons take on Belsize Park at Warners Bridge.

And Newton is determined to help ensure Southend get back to winning ways.

“It’s massive opportunity, not only to get back to winning ways but to put in a strong performance at home,” said Newton.

“We’re expecting a big crowd with all five senior men’s teams running out at home so hopefully we can play some good rugby that will be entertaining.”

Southend started 2022 with a 22-12 defeat at Brentwood last weekend and now sit seventh in the standings.

Eighth placed Belsize Park are five points below the Saxons.

And Newton is expecting a close clash.

“We’re expecting another tightly fought 80 minutes,” said Newton.

“The reverse fixture went down to the last kick of the game and we were luckily on the right side of that result.

“But saying that we’ve largely been focusing on ourselves this week and working on the things that we can control which will put us in the best position to get a result come Saturday.”

And, beyond that, Newton is keen for Southend to start impressing on a more consistent basis.

“The season has been a strange one with the challenges that Covid has brought,” said Newton.

“We’ve shown in periods of games that we can more than compete with the top teams in this league.

“The rest of the season is about continuing to improve each week and putting together consistent 80 minute performances, if we can do that I don’t see why we can’t be in or around the top three or four places.”