Bury St Edmunds’ director of rugby Gavin Hogg believes their home fans can prove to be the Wolfpack’s 16th man this afternoon.

Struggling Bury are floundering just above the National 2 relegation zone, following five straight defeats, and are seeking home comforts today against Clifton.

Bury lost the corresponding fixture 30-8, earlier in the season, and a similar result would plunge the them further into trouble.

Hogg has backed his players to get through their rut but has called on locals to turn out in force and give them an extra push.

“We are one of the best supported teams in the league and it is always a pleasure to come back and play in front of between 400 and 600 people every other week,” said Hogg.

“They make a massive difference to the guys. I remember when we were 20-3 down to Chinnor last month, the crowd were incredible in the second half and really raised the boys and we went on to win 24-20.

“We love playing towards the clubhouse in the second half and when the crowd get vocal, the players grow in stature and confidence.

“It looks like it’s going to be a reasonable day, so let’s hope a few more people can come along and support us.”

While Hogg hopes the home support will be crucial, he is also aware of the importance of his players not letting their heads drop, should they hit a bad spell in the game.

“Over the last three or four weeks I feel we have played some of our best attacking rugby, but there have been some big turning points where we have not managed games well enough when the momentum has shifted,” he explained.

“If the opposition have scored, we have tended to lose a bit of confidence and let the opposition dominate us for the next 15 minutes or so.

“We know there will be a spell in the second half when Clifton will put some pressure on.

“We have got make sure we are not pulled off the ball and put pressure on Clifton in their half.”

He added: “We have been talking over recent weeks about turning the corner sooner rather than later, we have been through a bad spell, but we have an opportunity to put things right in front of our home fans.”