TREVOR Senior insists his Bridport side will not devise a plan to neutralise Lee Gale ahead of their visit to Gillingham Town on Monday (3pm).

Prolific sharpshooter Gale, a constant menace to defenders, is the second highest goalscorer in Toolstation Western League Division One this season having bagged 18 in just 19 appearances.

He has weighed in with more than half the Gills’ tally this campaign and his remarkable strike-rate is almost single-handedly spearheading their promotion charge.

The Hardings Lane outfit are currently fourth in the table, one place and two points worse off than the Bees having played three more games.

Bridport boss Senior is acutely aware how colossal this Dorset showdown is for both sides – and he is backing his dependable defence to cope with the pressure Gale will undoubtedly apply.

Senior said: “Lee Gale scores a lot of goals and is one of the best strikers in the league. He is someone we’ll watch out for, but we won’t worry about him too much.

“We will be wary of him but our defence has been strong all season and I’m sure it will be again.

“There’s always a bit of a rivalry between the teams in Dorset and this game will be the same. The two matches we had with them last season were very evenly contested.”

Bridport were last in league action back on December 11 – a 3-1 victory over Roman Glass St George – with subsequent fixtures against Portishead Town and Chard Town falling foul of the weather.

The Bees have played fewer games than all the teams around them but since they are 10 points adrift of the top two, victories are needed urgently.

And Senior added: “We need to get back to playing well. I would say this match is another six-pointer but the last time I said that was before the Cadbury Heath game, which we lost.

“We have three home matches in a row after this so it’s an opportunity to get three vital points and then consolidate. If we play the way we did against Wimborne Town and Roman Glass we’ll be fine.

“It will be blood and thunder but we have got to win these types of games if we are to finish in the top two. We know that a win would give us a bit of breathing space.”

Midfielder Darren Watts is still awaiting the start of his three-match suspension, which has been delayed because of the inclement weather, for the red card he received against Hengrove Athletic.

Bees (from): Filkins, A Symes, Condliffe, Lock, Hayter, J Symes, Peart, Wise, C Clarke, Dovell, Legg, Evans, Gale, Bulman.

* Bridport Reserves will entertain Portland United at St Mary’s Field on Monday in the Magna Dorset Premier League (2pm).