Striker Liam Nash is getting closer to first-team action.

Boss Steve Lovell has used the former non-league hot-shot off the bench just once since taking charge.

Nash had a spell on loan at Leatherhead but Lovell is keen to see him getting some minutes.

“I would have liked to have got another forward on (on Saturday) and maybe given Nashy a run out,” Lovell said.

“But the way the game was going I don’t think the conditions would have been good for Nashy.

“He has worked hard in training and he is chomping at the bit to have a go.

“When they are not playing and they are not playing League 1 games, it is hard to judge them. That is why I wanted to give him 20-25 minutes.

“He deserves it, as do some of the others, but I don’t want to throw points away for the sake of giving someone a run out, it has to be right.”

Nash isn’t the only one hoping to stake a claim for a place, with Navid Nasseri, Franck Moussa, Elliott List, Ben Chapman and Noel Mbo among those hoping to get minutes.

“They deserve it because they train hard,” added Lovell. “It must be frustrating for them to not play. I can only pick 11 and the 11 I am picking at the moment are doing a great job.

“They will get there, we have a lot of games to go.”