IF someone had told manager Richard Dryden in August that Worcester City would be three points shy of the play-off places with more than a quarter-of-the-season gone, he would have snapped their arm off.

Yet, with barely a week to go before November, that is exactly where the St George’s Lane club find themselves ahead of the Blue Square South trip to Maidenhead United (3pm).

City may have passed up the chance to join tomorrow’s opponents in the top five by losing 2-0 at home to Team Bath on Monday but Dryden’s side are still in a position to launch an assault on the league’s high-fliers.

Monday’s defeat was their first in the league since August 25, which came against the students’ landlords Bath City.

Worcester remain unbeaten on the road so far this season and will be looking to extend that run to seven matches at York Road where Maidenhead have not lost in five fixtures this term.

“I think it will make for a very good game,” Dryden said. “We have only conceded three goals away from home all season but we try and go forward when we play. Hopefully, it will be an entertaining game and not a drab affair.

“We are still seventh and in among where we want to be and if we can get something out of the game, it will be a decent achievement.

“We know it will be tough but so do Maidenhead. It will be two teams fighting to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

“We have proved we can win or lose against teams above or below us. We are probably doing better than we thought and are punching above our weight but we have proved we can beat anybody in this league as long as we are consistent.”

City hope to have Jon Richardson back after the previously ever-present centre-half missed Monday’s match with the virus which has affected several members of the squad in recent days.

Right-back Graham Ward has been another victim this week but is expected to play.

Midfielder Dave Bampton, who sat out at Havant and Waterlooville, needed to be replaced by Gary Walker in the first-half of the Team Bath defeat but should be fit to return to his roving role in midfield.

Set-piece specialist Jamie Price suffered a hip injury on Monday, being replaced two minutes into the second-half by Matt Dodd, and will be assessed ahead of kick-off, while Shabir Khan came through unscathed.