West Norfolk boss Nigel Richardson admits his troops will head to the coast with renewed optimism for their latest London North-East Division Three challenge tomorrow.

West narrowly lost their opening two matches after gaining promotion from Greene King Eastern Counties Division One. But it was third time lucky as they beat Beccles in their last London NE3 fixture to open their account for the season.

An away match at Lowestoft & Yarmouth awaits the North Wootton club this weekend with Richardson believing that breakthrough victory will have done his players' confidence the world of good.

Richardson said: 'From a players' perspective I would have thought getting that win will have improved their confidence. 'From the sidelines I can see we're getting to where we want to be in this league. It's a bit of a steep learning curve but we're definitely getting there. And coming off the back of a win means we'll be in even better spirits.'

West were without a game at the weekend as their Senior Vase first round clash was postponed because opponents UCS Old Boys were unable to raise a team. The week off has allowed many players to recover from niggling injuries allowing Richardson to draw some positives from the abandonment.

'As it was a cup competition we were going to have a look at some of our younger development players and one or two guys who are looking to break into the first team,' said Richardson, whose team have collected five points from three league matches compared to Yarmouth's winless, but bonus-points return, of two. 'We could have had a good look at some other players but it also allowed those with minor niggles to have the weekend off. It's always disappointing when a match is called off on a Friday night though, especially for those who were in the squad and looking forward to playing a game on the Saturday.

'We had half-a-dozen fitness issues though and they've now been able to rest up so we've got a virtually full squad to pick from as it stands going into the weekend.'

Jo Butt (knee) will definitely miss out as West prepare to head across the country to face one of four sides that sit below them in the early-season standings.

In lower-level EC One Swaffham visit Crusaders while Wisbech will be looking to pick up their first victory at home to Thurston.