Boreham Wood head into a make-or-break festive programme with a trip to second-placed Forest Green Rovers first up on Saturday.

A double header against high flying Braintree Town plus a trip to Woking complete the Christmas schedule for Wood.

Boss Luke Garrard knows the task facing his side, who currently occupy a relegation berth with all the teams around them having games in hand, is one not to be taken lightly.

He said: “I have told the players how many points we need from these four tough games. We are not in this league as also rans and the team have to respond accordingly.”

Performances have warranted a better points return and the of the influential loan signing Klovis Kamdjo, who not allowed to play against his parent club, will not help.

The Green Devils boast the best home record in the National League and only Gateshead and Tranmere Rovers have left The New Lawn with maximum points this term. 

Rewind to August and Wood put in a fine performance against the Green Devils, going down 1-0 to a Kurtis Guthrie goal despite hitting the woodwork on three occasions.

That victory was part of the nine-game winning streak which catapulted Ady Pennock’s men to the stop of the National League in style.

Guthrie, 22, was part of the Welling United side that gained promotion to the Conference in 2013. He has found the net on seven occasions in the League, one less than Jon Parkin, who did not feature in the reverse fixture at Meadow Park.

Nicknamed ‘The Beast’, Parkin is something of a promotion expert. The 33-year-old helped Stoke City gain promotion to the Premier League in 2008, aided Preston North End in reaching the Championship play offs a year later and was part of the Fleetwood Town side which earned promotion to League One via the play-offs in 2014.

However, the form of the experienced Aaron O’Connor is keeping the Beast at bay. His return of nine goals make him the Stroud side’s top scorer.

O’Connor has tasted both success and failure at Wembley. The 32-year-old was part of the Luton Town side beaten in the 2012 Conference Play-Off Final before returning a year later to score in Newport County’s 2-0 win over Wrexham as the Exiles returned to the Football League.

The Green Devils are currently three points off the summit with a game in hand over leaders and fellow Gloucestershire side Cheltenham Town.

Their 1-1 draw at the World of Smile Stadium, in front of 5449 fans in a game dubbed as El Glosico, may well prove crucial come the end of the season.