Leatherhead boss Richard Brady says the team is raring to go further into “Europe” than ever before.

The Tanners, on a run of seven consecutive wins, travel to fellow Ryman Division One South high-fliers Guernsey this weekend.

The Channel Islanders, promoted last season, sit third in the table, five points behind Brady’s men in the race for promotion.

Brady said: “This is almost like a game in Europe for us.

“We have no fitness concerns, and are heading over on Friday to stay the night.

“I hope we can come back with a point at the very least, as we have a lot of fans going over so we’d want to do it for them.”

Leatherhead chairman Peter Ashdown was less enthused about the trip, despite the hosts paying for return flights through a business deal they have with their travel agent partner Travel Solutions.

He said: “It is a novelty and I don’t think we’d want to be doing more than necessary.

“We played Newport on the Isle of Wight, so this is the furthest we have been to play a competitive match.

“But the problem is a logistical one. We have to fly out Friday to give the players a chance to prepare, and that means they are paying for the hotel themselves.”

At the time of going to press, Tanners were sitting four points behind leaders Peacehaven & Telscombe, who are unbeaten in 15 games in all competitions.

Tanners’ 1-0 home victory over Walton Casuals last weekend – thanks to Darren Smith’s first half strike – keeps them in touch, although Brady was adamant the scoreline should have been more comprehensive.

“Walton are a good team, but we had the majority of the chances in that game and to be honest should really have won by more,” he said.

“There is still an awfully long way to go this season with 16 games left.

“We are just taking it one game at a time, aiming for three points every game, and we’ll see where we finish at the end of the season.”