ANDY Bye has his eyes firmly fixed on victory – and finally getting the better of old pal Darren Powell – when the pair put friendship to one side tomorrow.

Bye’s New Milton Town welcome Wimborne Town to Fawcett’s Field, with Powell having joined the Cuthbury outfit last month to assist manager Alex Browne.

And the men in opposing dugouts know each other well, having played together at Farnborough, then Bashley, although that will mean little once battle commences at 3pm.

“The first time I met Darren, I was at Farnborough and he was a young lad at Bournemouth and he came and played for us,” explained Bye, who is the Linnets’ joint manager alongside Paul Masters.

“Then a few years later he was at Bashley with me. We used to have a good competition over who could score the most goals and he used to take the penalties, so he always got the better of me.”

Although he never beat Powell in the goalscoring stakes, Bye has his heart set on gaining some revenge tomorrow.

Despite their decent form this term, New Milton have not prospered against the Wessex Premier’s big guns, a record Bye wants to change.

He said: “One thing we haven’t done is really turn over one of the top four or five teams, so that would be nice.

“Last year we managed to beat VT, but as well as we’ve done this season we’ve not managed to get any wins against the top five.

“Wimborne have had a funny couple of weeks and are going through the stage where they are preparing for next season.

“They have nothing to focus on really other than getting a side for next season, which you’d expect to do with their set-up.”

Powell, who also played in the same team as Masters at Dorchester, admits Linnets could prove to be a banana skin for his misfiring Wimborne side.

“It’s a game that could catch us at the wrong time,” said the Magpies number two.

“We could come unstuck if we’re not careful. We’ve had a couple of defeats on the bounce and are looking to put that right.”

The hosts are without suspended midfielder Mark Holland, while Wimborne welcome Nathan Walker and player-boss Browne back into their squad.

Michael Walker could also return after serving a suspension last weekend because his further four-match ban does not start until after tomorrow’s clash. Former Cherries frontman Dave Town, who has hit 11 goals for Magpies this season, is unavailable.

New Milton Town: (from) Anderson, Jones, Woods, Clarke, Grace, Coleman, Pidgley, K Chengadu, R Chengadu, Kenna, White, Allen, Burt, Lilley, Sampays, Walker.

Wimborne Town: (from) Walker-Harris, Arnold, Whitcher, Wilson, McCormick, Green, Joyce, Cann, Smith, Wyatt, Haysom, Ackerman, Phillipson-Masters, N Walker, M Walker, Browne.