AFC Telford United manager Rob Smith has urged his side to “up the ante” as they aim to make their first New Bucks Head appearance of the season a winning one tonight.The Bucks emerged from the opening game of their Blue Square North campaign with a satisfactory point at Stalybridge Celtic on Saturday.

But Smith is fully aware there is plenty more to come from his squad – and is hoping tonight’s visitors Hinckley will feel the full force this evening.

“We just want to improve in general,” said the Telford chief.

“On Saturday, there were two or three good performances and everyone else was average by their standards.

“We are looking for everyone to up their game a bit but the grass should be a bit shorter tonight than it was on Saturday and that should allow us to get our passing game going.”

Smith is anxious for his side to break their win duck as quickly as possible.

“There is no escaping that everyone settles down when they get that first win of the season,” he added.

“Hinckley will benefit from that because they beat Workington (1-0) on Saturday and they are a much-changed side from last season and a totally different proposition.

“But we are very focused to get that first win and I really believe in the lads.”

Smith has reported no fresh injury problems from Saturday, although Carl Rodgers is unlikely to recover from the calf strain which ruled him out of the season opener.

Meanwhile, club officials are confident heavy rain overnight and this morning – as well as the forecast of showers throughout the day – will not cause problems for this evening’s encounter.

Speaking this morning, chairman Lee Carter said: “There are one or two areas with a little water on the surface but we have got people working on the pitch and we are confident there won’t be a problem.”