Wingate & Finchley manager Marc Weatherstone knows Leatherhead will be a tough opponent, but his side remain full of confidence despite opening day defeat.

The Blues will travel away to Fetcham Grove on Saturday on the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat to Margate in their Isthmian Premier Division home opener.

The boss feels his side have nothing to worry about and must just take their chances in the upcoming match.

The Tanners did, however, bag a 3-2 victory over Bowers & Pitsea away from home in their opening fixture to get them off to a bright start – despite manager Nikki Bull stepping down from his managerial role during the week.

“Leatherhead will be tough, they always are,” Weatherstone said. “They are coming off a win against Bowers and Pitsea so they will be full of confidence but I am sure, if we play like we did today (Saturday), we have nothing to worry about.”

Ben Greenhalgh netted in the 31st minute at the Maurice Rebak Stadium to seal the win for Jay Saunder’s Margate.

But the newly-appointed Wingate manager felt there were plenty of positives to take out of the match.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my men. We did everything we asked for but score, the chances we created deserved more.

“All we needed to do to turn that result, was to score, I’m sure that will change soon.”

The boss was also eager to thank the fans for showing up and giving his side some good support after months without competitive action due to the pandemic.

“A Saturday afternoon at Summer Lane under the sun with the Wingate fans doesn’t get much better, it was great to be back.”

Wingate made plenty of additions in the days leading up to the season as they brought in defender Danny Pappoe from Carshalton Athletic, goalkeeper Ben Goode, defender Loic Hernandez, midfielder Jordan Gibbons, midfielder Kayne James-Thompson, forwards Jabir Laraba and Darnell Goather-Braithwaite.

That group of players joined a few new faces that have already been announced plus a number of re-signings.