Maldon and Tiptree boss Wayne Brown is eager to make Park Drive a fortress, writes DANNY RUST.

The Jammers will take on Brentwood Town in their first home clash of the season, this weekend.

And Brown insists that if Maldon & Tiptree are to challenge at the top of the Isthmian North this term, then they must pick up positive results on home soil.

Brown said: “We have had a few pre-season games at home during the summer.

“We had mixed results, but the friendlies are more of a fitness exercise and it’s when the results take a bit of a backseat.

“Brentwood will be tough opposition but, with us being at home, it’s important to stamp our authority and make it a really tough place for teams to come to.

“Home form is important in any division, but we want to enjoy a successful campaign and if we are to do that then we need to win our matches at Park Drive.

“I’m looking forward to the game because it will be my first competitive match in charge at Park Drive.

“Hopefully we will pick up a win.”

Brown has had to contend with a difficult pre-season, which has seen a high turnover of players.

And the new boss claimed the summer proved to be an eye-opener for him.

Brown added: “It was an eye-opener for me because I have seen some of the demands players make in non-league football.

“Some of the demands surprised me and it has been difficult getting the right players through the door.

“But the squad is coming together and we have some real quality here.

“We still need some more experience and if we can bring that in then I think we’ll be in a good position.

“We were different to other non-league sides in that we didn’t bring 40 players in on trial and then cut it down.

“Quality was what we decided to go for and it has been tough because we have had to bring in 16-18 new bodies, rather than just the six signings you would normally get at a non-league club.”

Maldon & Tiptree were made to settle for a point in their Isthmian North season opener with Mildenhall Town last weekend.

The Jammers went ahead through Decarry Sheriff on 75 minutes, but the away side were pegged back by Mildenhall Town as Luke Butcher levelled matters four minutes later.

Neither side could grab a late winner and the encounter finished 1-1.

Brown felt a number of positives came from the game.

“The match was an eye-opener for me because we knew they were going to be direct, but they won more than 40 set plays,” confirmed Brown, who has replaced Kevin Horlock at the Park Drive helm.

“We dealt with the set plays well, on the whole, and I was pleased with that because I know the club has been struggling with set pieces in the past few years.

“We had a great chance to go 1-0 up but then, moments later, we conceded a penalty.

“Ben (McNamara) saved it to keep us level and then we managed to go ahead.

“But then they equalised just four minutes later and, although it was frustrating to concede, I was pleased with a point in the end because they were looking for a late winner.

“You’re always more susceptible to conceding just after you’ve scored, and so it proved.

“They had so many set plays and although I think we were naive in some of the free-kicks and corners we gave away, there were positives to take from the match and I couldn’t argue with the penalty being awarded.”

However, Brown would like to see his charges play to their strengths against Brentwood this weekend.

The Jammers chief admitted: “We didn’t play to our strengths often against Mildenhall.

“I would like to see us control the game on Saturday.

“If he had have taken our chance to go 1-0 up before the penalty, we would have been in a good position.

“We scored after the penalty save and it would have been 2-0 then and then it’s a totally different game.

“We’ll be looking for three points on Saturday.”