Deal manager Derek Hares is hoping that a run of three successive home games will help the Hoops to get back on track.
Heavy defeats in their last two matches at the hands of Crowborough Athletic and Ashford United have seen Deal slip to third from bottom of the Southern Counties East League table.
But Saturday’s opponents Beckenham Town are on an even worse run after losing their four last league games, including a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Sevenoaks on Wednesday night.
Following Saturday’s game the Hoops will meet familiar opponents Cray Valley at home on Tuesday night in the Macron SCEL Challenge Cup, and then a week on Saturday Deal will be in cup action again at the Charles Ground, this time against Holmesdale in the Kent Senior Trophy.
Hares told the East Kent Mercury: “We definitely need to come out of these next three games with something, and the one encouraging thing about the Ashford game was that we didn’t capitulate after going 4-0 down so quickly, the lads showed a bit of character.”
Deal Town Rangers are sponsoring the Beckenham game as their contribution to the Football Association’s latest “Non-League Day”, when soccer fans across the country are encouraged to show support for their local non-league club.
Rangers chairman Alan Clarke said: “There is no top-flight football taking place on Saturday because of the England and Malta game and we have asked as many players and members of our club as possible to show support for our local non-league club by attending the Beckenham game, and then perhaps stay on to watch the England match in the excellent new clubhouse at the Charles Ground.
“We have also arranged matches for a couple of our under-seven and under-eight teams on the five-a-side pitch next to the main pitch before the Beckenham game and we will also be providing mascots and ball boys for the senior match.
“I believe Saturday’s events will represent another important step forward in the growing relationship between the town’s senior football club and the area’s largest youth football club.”
Deal Reserves meanwhile will be hopeful of posting their first win of the season in the Kent County League on Saturday when they travel to Ramsgate to take on East Kent College Reserves, who lost 15-2 in the only match they have played so far in Division 2 Central & East.
