BANBURY United will entertain Hitchin Town tomorrow without John Mills after the striker was released by the club.

Mills was let go after scoring nine goals in 48 games, with boss Mike Ford admitting he faced a tough decision.

He said: “John has worked very hard for us but, in all honesty, I can use the money we’re paying him on someone else.

“It’s a difficult decision but I have to do what’s best for the club.”

The Puritans go into the BetVictor Southern League Premier Central clash on a run of three straight defeats, leaving them tenth.

It followed losses to high-fliers Royston Town and Peterborough Sports, when Ford felt his side were hampered by injuries.

He said: “If Hitchin look at our recent results they’ll see us as a chance for three points.

“But we ran those top teams very close and if we had our best team on the pitch the outcome might have been different .”

Lee Henderson, Claudio Dias, Lee Hughes, Connor Roberts and Greg Kaziboni could all return.

In Division 1 Central, Thame United boss Mark West was delighted with his team’s response to last weekend’s defeat at Didcot as they saw off AFC Dunstable at the ASM Stadium on Tuesday.

Thame lost 2-0 in the derby last weekend, but bounced back with a 2-1 win against the Bedfordshire team.

West said: “Against Didcot, we were very poor and gave away two bad goals.

“We spoke about that, because the lads knew it wasn’t good enough and we weren’t accepting that type of performance.

“And the way we hit back against Dunstable was really pleasing.”

Thame host second-placed Berkhamsted and West is up for the challenge.

He said: “We’ve done well against the top sides this year and know we are capable of getting a result.

“We’re decent at home and it’s a game I am confident we can get something out of.”

Thame are without Carl Davies, but Tom Ashworth, Dave Lynn and Ben Sturgess should return.

Craig Dore wants North Leigh to toughen up as they look to bounce back at home to Kempston Rovers.

Defeats to Yaxley and Biggleswade have seen the Millers drop to 13th and the joint boss says his young side need to learn quickly if they are to be successful.

He said: “Complacency and inconsistency has haunted us recently.

“It’s almost as if, once we let a goal in, we look a beaten side.

“We had a similar problem last season, and we need to toughen up.

“I’ve got plenty of talented footballers at this club, but once the going gets tough, questions are asked how they respond.”

Although North Leigh’s play-off hopes are hanging by a thread, Dore is adamant that they will not give up hope.

He said: “It’s been a very frustrating season, but it’s not impossible to turn things around. We’ve given ourselves a tough task, and having lots of games postponed hasn’t helped us, as it’s difficult to get on a run.”

Lewis Gabbidon and Ben Brown are away.

Didcot Town midfielder George Reid has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken foot in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Thame.

Jack Longford (thigh) and Jack Powell (Achilles) should return for their trip to Daventry Town, as should Kieran Collins, who missed last weekend’s win.

Boss Jamie Heapy said: “It was a really pleasing result last weekend, although it was soured somewhat with George’s injury.

“We have competition for places now and the lads will need to play well to keep the shirt.

“I’m just looking for a bit more consistency, although our performances have been pretty good of late.”

Bottom side Wantage Town travel to Coleshill Town, while Kidlington entertain Aylesbury United.

Tommy Franklin and Aaron Morton return, but Tommy Castle and Kaylem Patterson miss out for Kidlington.

TOMORROW’S LINE-UPS

Banbury Utd (v Hitchin Tn, away): from Harding, Roberts, Ngaah Bosio, Westbrook, Hawtin, Henderson, Rasulo, Johnson, Awadh, Mills, Wright, Fasanmade, Shamsi, Walker, Odhiambo, Wilson.

Didcot Tn (v Daventry Tn, away): from Bedwell, Carnell, Green, Isaac, Nash, Hayden, Silva, Francis, Dark, Collins, Stanley, Bell, Humphries, Longford, Gilmore, Talboys, Thomas, Powell.

Thame Utd (v Berkhamsted, home): from Hill, Lynn, Mapley, Hackett, Essex, Ashworth, West, Simms, Harris, Blake, Peake-Pijnen, Sturgess, Tack, Tutton, Goss.

North Leigh (v Kempston Rovers, home): from North, Isherwood, Stanley, Learoyd, Gunn, Atkinson, Landers, Alabi, Grant, McNish, L Williams, Seacole, M Williams, Gillett, Woodley, Alexis.

Wantage Tn (v Coleshill Tn, away): from McKenzie-Lyle, Tuttle, Fry, Broadley, Regrugui, Singh, Ibie, Sule, Lee, McGory, Hartley, Martei, Sheppard, Freeman, Mutero, James.

Kidlington (v Aylesbury Utd, home): from Lawrence, Davidson, Peart, Franklin, West, Glover, Willoughby, Benjamin, Gillett, Smith, Steve Robertson, Tom Moore, Aaron Morton, Josh Tooke, Tobias London.