WESSEX LEAGUE fixtures don't come much tougher than facing Lymington & New Milton, Andover and champions Winchester City in the space of eight testing days.

But, as far as Gosport Borough's new coach John Robson is concerned, the harder the opponents, the better.

Having been held to a 1-1 home draw by Lymington on Saturday, promotion-chasing Gosport have it all to do on the road this week, following tonight's trip to seventh-placed Andover with a visit to Robson's former club Winchester on Saturday.

But like Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who was delighted to draw favourites Barcelona in the Champions League, Robson's view is: "Bring 'em on."

The former Bashley manager said: "The better teams are the ones to play against. Personally, I'd love to play the likes of Wimborne, Newbury, Thatcham and Winchester every week because, with all due respect to the Hambles and Downtons of this world, people tend to get complacent against the lower sides.

"When you're up against the likes of Newbury you don't have the chance to be complacent and you get to know who your good players are. Quality players stand out against the better teams and it also exposes any weaknesses.

"If you're not beating the top teams, the reason is that they're better than you and you know where you've got to improve."

Robson, who is waiting in the wings to replace Borough boss Mick Marsh when he moves to Spain at the end of the season, reckons a draw was just about the right result against Lymington.

He reflected: "Lymington have got some good individuals and I'd give them a slight edge over us at the moment. I think they looked a bit more dangerous than we did.

"Thommo (Ben Thomson) was busy and they've still got Paddy James to come back in. They've got a bit of pace in their side, which is something we lack, and these days it's vital. That said, there's not much to choose between us and if we played them ten times I'm sure it would end up five each."

If tonight's game survives the wet weather, Gosport will be without one of the key weapons in their armoury. Left-sided threat Perry Holland has suspected broken ribs.

Fortunately they have a ready-made replacement in Ian Dyer, who made his comeback for the reserves on Saturday after seven weeks out injured.