WILL Croker warned Bournemouth would face a Newton Abbot side who "should be sniffing blood" following the Dorset club's first defeat of the season.

Having seen their flawless record ended at Maidenhead, Lions will tomorrow aim to return to winning ways in South West Premier (2pm).

Newton Abbot have won just two of their 12 league games but the Devon outfit suffered only a narrow loss to third-place Barnstaple last time out.

And Lions head coach Croker predicted a difficult test at Chapel Gate.

He told the Daily Echo: "Newton Abbot have not had the start to the season any of us expected. They had been hotly fancied by most of the coaches in the league but had a really tough start to the season.

"The Barnstaple result shows they are trying to get things back on track.

"They will have seen our result against Maidenhead and should be sniffing blood. They will think if they can apply pressure, we will do things we should not do.

"We need to regain our composure, get back to what we do and how we operate."

Bournemouth, who are six points clear of nearest rivals Ivybridge, could welcome back Karim Lynch, Joe Rees, Mike Davies and Adam Higgins.