Chester FC will be attacked from the off in tomorrow's crunch clash at Southport (3pm kick-off).

That is the verdict of new Southport boss Andy Preece ahead of the Haig Avenue encounter.

Preece has plenty of respect for the 'great' job being done by his opposite number Jon McCarthy.

But, with the Blues having conceded the most goals in the Vanarama National League since Christmas, he believes they can be got at.

Preece, who took over the Sandgrounders after leaving Airbus UK Broughton in the summer, said: "They've done really well this year and the manager has done great. They're a strong, organised side.

"We have to be positive and take the game to them.

"If we bring quality in the final third there's no reason why we can't bring the game to them and cause them problems."

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Preece has bolstered his attacking options ahead of the match by re-signing striker Louis Almond on loan from Tranmere Rovers.

But third-from-bottom Southport's biggest problems this season have been at the other end of the field.

They have the worst defensive record in the non-league top-flight and the clean sheet they kept in last weekend's 0-0 draw at fellow strugglers Woking was their first at home since November.

Preece, who has also brought in Jim Stevens, Kevin Monteiro and Lindon Meikle, said: "We should have won the game in the last minute and we nullified them. We looked dangerous.

"It was again one step of many steps we have to take going forward in the next couple of weeks.

"We've worked on trying to be as solid as we can and equally trying to put them on the back foot. It's hard to get the balance right.

"We want to be on the front foot and put teams under pressure. We really do need to win games so we haven't really got time to build step by step. We have to hit the ground running."