Bury St Edmunds coach Gavin Hogg hopes defeat last time out was a blip as his side look to get back on the promotion trail.

Hogg’s side were humbled at The Haberden a fortnight ago, losing 17-8 at home to East Grinstead, and sacrificing top spot in National 3 to London Irish Wild Geese.

Today, the Green & Ambers are on the road at fifth-placed Chichester, aiming to rediscover the form that saw them accrue seven straight victories prior to the East Grinstead defeat, on November 22.

“We have been trying to get back to where we were a month ago and we felt we did not play to our potential in the defeat against East Grinstead,” said Hogg.

“We did not impose ourselves on them and we have looked at the video in training this week and been fine tuning to try and improve.

“We are excited to get back on the pitch and looking forward to the challenge that Saturday will bring.”

Today’s opponents were promoted last season and started the season with four straight league wins.

They have faltered in recent weeks, having lost three of their six games at home, but Hogg believes an upturn in form could be just around the corner.

“Being new to the league they carried some momentum with them and got straight into their stride,” explained Hogg.

“After five or six games I believe they picked up a few injuries, but over the last couple of weeks they have started to get some of their guys back and they had a good win, last time out, at Amersham.”

Bury will head to Chichester without the services of standout inside centre, Tanimo Samoa.

“Tanimo’s visa has expired but that was something that we had prepared for,” added Hogg.

“He joined two years ago and was part of our promotion team, so it’s disappointing to lose him, but Greg White – a local boy – has been involved over the past five or six games and fitted in seamlessly.”

Tim Young and Aaron Waters are returning from injury for Bury, but Hogg has not ruled out new additions arriving at the west Suffolk club.

“It all depends on what we pick up in terms of injuries, but we have our ear to the ground in terms of the players out there locally, who might be able to make the step up,” he said.

“We have got a few players coming back now and hopefully that will get us through the Christmas period and beyond.”