Jamie Dru

West Hampstead captain Jamie Dru is confident that his team’s push for honours this season will not be derailed by fixture congestion.

The Brent Cross club lost ground on their promotion rivals in South League Division Two after their match at Wycombe last Saturday was called off due to a clash with an indoor tournament.

That was WH’s second postponement in successive weekends and, although they remain third in the table, now lie nine points adrift of leaders Oxford Hawks.

With an EHB Cup tie against Letchworth scheduled for February 12, West Hampstead’s squad is likely to be stretched over the coming weeks and Dru admitted: “It’s going to be double headers galore next month.

“We’ll be playing on both days pretty much each weekend and that is a burden on the players. I’m not so worried about our league position – it’s more about whether we can keep everyone fit and available.

“We’ve got a core squad of about 15, which is perhaps a touch lighter than we’d like it to be, but I think we’re up to the challenge. We’re confident of doing well again.”

WH still have just the one fixture scheduled this weekend, with eighth-placed Gore Court due to visit Brent Cross on Saturday.

“We beat them at their place just before Christmas, but they always give us a decent game and I’m sure that’ll be the case again on Saturday,” Dru added.