AS MARK Collier prepares to take his Chippenham Town side to Bedford Town this weekend, the Hardenhuish Park chief is certain that the landscape has shifted since his team’s last trip to the Eyrie.

The Bluebirds ran out 3-0 winners at Bedford back on March 8, with the then-struggling Bedford relegated into the Evo-Stik League Southern Division One Central just two weeks later.

But with Chippenham set for a reunion with the Eagles on Saturday and £4,000 in prize money and a place in the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy on the line, manager Collier is expecting a very different test from eight months ago.

“Last season, we went there when they were struggling and everybody had been winning there at the time, so we knew we had to win,” said Collier.

“We were expected to go there and win and we managed to do that, but their squad looks completely different to the last time.

“It’s obviously a very big game for us and we have to be ready for it to be difficult. They’re going to be competitive but hopefully we can go there, do the right things, and end up in the next round.”

Collier’s side beat local rivals Frome Town 3-1 in the first qualifying round earlier this month but have lost Omar Simpson to their near neighbours, the striker opting to link up with the Badgers Hill outfit in search of regular first-team football.

The former Yeovil Town man, who is also a Great Britain international sprinter, joined Chippenham in the summer and scored two goals.

“We spoke to Omar a bit in the last few weeks because we haven’t been able to give him as much game-time as he would have wanted and we were aware there was an enquiry from Frome,” said Collier.

“We can’t promise game-time to anyone and there have been times when we’ve chosen to go with midfielders up front instead. I don’t think he’s really coped with the system we like to play.

“So we were happy to let him go and I think he’ll do well at Frome.”

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