IF anyone thinks passionate rivalry is reserved for the over bloated top end of the game, they should talk to Craig Vernon.

The Merstham centre-back will be more focused than ever next Tuesday against Leatherhead in the first meeting between the two sides since Mick Sullivan left the Moatside for Fetcham Grove in the summer.

He will be carrying the hopes of many fans eager to get one over their old manager, who spent nine years at Merstham.

But some, such as current boss Graeme Banyard, just want the distraction of the rivalry the game brings out of the way.

Speaking of the twice-postponed Ryman One fixture, Vernon said: "It's dragged on a bit. I think Graeme just wants to get it out of the way.

"There's a lot of excitement. This is the big one, like a cup final. We want to win and get another three points."

Vernon, who has played for the club for six years, and Merstham residents Ian Chatfield, the keeper, and David Smith, in midfield, will face a clutch of former colleagues with whom they not only won the Combined Counties League but reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase.

Vernon vowed: "At half-time, if I think anyone isn't putting in at least 110 per cent, they will get a big rollocking from me."

But while he added that "we were mates, not any more" that is definitely on the field. "We'll be friends afterwards in the bar when they buy me a beer."

Talking before Tuesday's 5-2 loss at Whyteleafe, he said: "Even a draw would be good for us, but for the likes of me and Chats, we want to win."

One battle seems personal. "Chris Boulter is not going to score from a header at a corner.

"If I do start I will be really telling the lads how badly we want to win."

Although many of those taken to the Tanners by Sullivan have since left Fetcham Grove, Boulter, Mark Simmonds and Rob Hill mean there are plenty left to make a good rivalry.

They are still friends and some went to watch Merstham last Saturday, when the Moatsiders beat Ramsgate 4-2 and Leatherhead's game was postponed.

The Leatherhead game aside, Horsham-based Vernon remains hopeful of helping Merstham progress, next season if not this.

"We started the season with a strong team and got better. We then lost a couple," he said.

"Graeme has had to build a team up and he's done well considering the players he has lost."

Just two wins have been gained this calendar year, however, and Saturday's triumph was the first home win for several months.

Vernon said: "It hasn't helped recently that we played a lot of the top teams. We're a good enough team to get in the top half easily, maybe even the play-offs. The middle to the top is quite tight."

The reason for their poor run is "a mixture of things," he said. "We didn't have a settled team. Everyone was a bit down because we lost our best players and it got to everyone on the pitch.

"We tried to turn things round and hopefully we've got a settled side at last."

Games against middle ranking sides such as Leatherhead or Burgess Hill, or those near the bottom such as Walton Casuals are "six pointers", he added.

The need to "grind out points" and concentrate for "95 minutes" has never been more critical if Merstham are to climb.

Sullivan said: "There's no getting away from it, there's too many connections between the two clubs and I suppose it's a game of bragging rights.

"In all honesty I think it's going to be one of those games with a local derby feel about it, simply for what it's all about. I would like to win, but both sets of players and management want to win it, I'm just hoping it doesn't become a battle, I'm hoping it's a footballing battle.