DARREN Manning is looking forward to seeing his Hullbridge Sports side going head-to-head with Canvey Island for the second time in eight days.

Sports will make the trip to Park Lane for an Isthmian League Cup group stage clash tonight.

And, having suffered a 3-1 Isthmian North defeat to the Gulls last week, Manning is hoping his much-changed side will claim the local bragging rights this time around.

The Hullbridge boss said: “It’s nice to be playing Canvey again.

“We are going there full of confidence after claiming our first ever Isthmian North win at Cambridge City on Saturday.

“I will be making a few changes to the side.

“Some of the players have niggles and could do with a rest after a number of games in a short space of time.

“But we want to win because we go into every game with the intention of picking up a positive result.

“It’s an opportunity for some players who have not been starting to get some minutes on the pitch and stake a claim for a regular spot in the team.”

Canvey welcome their neighbours to Park Lane having seen their 100 per cent winning start to the season come to an end at the weekend.

Goals from Will Gardner and Cruise Nyadzayo saw Bury Town record a 2-0 triumph over the Gulls.

And, like Manning, Canvey chief Mark Bentley will also be making alterations to his starting line-up as he has one eye on this weekend’s FA Cup first qualifying round tie at Waltham Abbey.

Bentley said: “We will definitely be making lots of changes.

“I can allow players to recover and give some players who have been on the bench some minutes.

“Some of the lads have done really well and need a rest.

“My main focus is the FA Cup on Saturday, so I will not be taking any risks with players tonight.”

And Bentley has called on his players to savour every triumph as Bury demonstrated opponents are desperate to overcome Canvey.

The former Southend United midfielder, who took over as boss in October, added: “We witnessed what sides are going to be like.

“We’re doing well at the moment and everyone wants to beat us.

“I’m trying to tell the boys that we need to enjoy every single victory because other clubs will certainly enjoy it against us.

“We need to make sure we stay positive. It’s all about the reaction because we put in another great shift and played well against Bury.”