Hawks hoping for more of the same as focus turns to Slough Town and the FA Trophy

In-form Hawks head to National League South rivals Slough Town for a second round on the back of five league games undefeated.

That run has seen Paul Doswell's side climb up to seventh and into the play-off positions in the sixth-tier.

With such hot form in the National League South of late, Hawks could be excused for seeing a second round FA Trophy tie at Slough as a bit of a distraction.

In fact, the sides met at Westleigh Park last month with Slough running out surprise 2-1 winners as Tommy Wright saw red for Doswell’s men.

But Collins is adamant that is not the case and is eyeing a deep run in the competition, with the final taking place at Wembley.

The Hawks coach said: ‘It gives us a little break from the league but we want to carry on the winning run.

‘We’re in a good place at the minute and you always want to carry on.

‘I think it’s one of them competitions, if you look over the past couple of years, National League South sides and lower clubs have got to finals so it’s a competition we want to do well in.

‘Realistically, it’s probably the only chance that a non-league is ever going to get to get to Wembley so we’ll be going there trying to win the game.’

Hawks' 2-0 win at struggling Braintree last weekend was a third in five league matches and they are unbeaten in that period.

But the last league defeat arrived against FA Trophy opponents Slough last month, who ran out 2-1 winners at Westleigh Park as Tommy Wright saw red.

In a further boost, Hawks’ horrendous injury list from a few weeks back is gradually easing with Oxford United loanee Leon Chambers-Parillon fit enough to start at Braintree after shaking off an Achilles issue.

The fixture also marked the long-awaited return for defender Benny Read, who featured for the first time since January following a serious shoulder problem, coming on as a substitute last weekend.

Hawks will also have Michael Green in the squad for the Trophy trip to Slough after illness while coach Collins is closing on a playing return having overcome a hamstring issue.

Collins added: ‘It was great to see Benny Read back after his long injury. He’s going to be a great addition to the squad.

‘It’s always nice as a group of players when someone is out for so long to see them back out there.

‘He came on for five or 10 minutes the other day (at Braintree), I think the longer the season goes on you’ve got to try to get him more minutes to get him match-fit, he’s done a lot of running to get to the stage he’s at but there’s nothing like playing games.’