PORTLAND United interim boss Gary Bailey is aiming to turn draws into wins as he seeks the first three points of his tenure against struggling Amesbury Town at Grove Corner tomorrow (3pm).

Bailey has secured 1-1 and 2-2 draws at Shaftesbury and Lymington Town respectively in his opening Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division games in charge, but now faces a Blues side that lies in 20th place.

However, Bailey told Echosport he refuses to take Town lightly ahead of the clash, with Portland only in 14th themselves.

He said: “We’re not in the greatest position ourselves and we’re looking to get that first win. We’re trying to turn good performances into three points, that’s what we’re going to be working to do.

“I don’t think of any game as a gimme. There’s good teams through this league. Anyone can beat anybody on their day.

“We’ve been pleased with the standard we’ve produced recently, it’s important that we turn that into three points and get ourselves moving up the table.”

Asked whether he would have taken two points from his first two games had he been offered them, Bailey would have accepted.

“It’s a difficult time to take over. We have only been able to have one training session with the lads. On paper they were two tough away games.

“I certainly would have taken a point before the game at Lymington, but having gone so close it felt like two points gone.

“The flip side perhaps is we grabbed a point against Shaftesbury, so they’ve levelled themselves out,” he said.

Bailey is also looking to improve the Blues’ home form, having picked up just four wins in all competitions this season.

He said: “If we can win the home games through the season we’re in a good position. The home form hasn’t been great and that’s clear for anyone to see.

“We’ll try to rectify that over the next couple of weeks. It was a stronghold of ours but we can’t keep comparing last season to this.

“That’s done and dusted, we’ve got to deal with the here and now, knuckle down and get some wins under our belt.”

After Amesbury, Portland’s next two league games are at home as they face AFC Portchester and Fareham Town.

Both Ross Doidge and Sean Zima are expected to be in contention for a squad berth as Portland look to record what would only be their ninth league win this season. Bailey otherwise has a fully-fit squad to choose from as he looks to continue the unbeaten start to his tenure.

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