The New Saints boss Scott Ruscoe believes his players are standing at the start of a great opportunity to break the back of their bid to reclaim the Cymru Premier League.

Saints travel to the capital to face Cardiff Met on Saturday (2.30pm) at the start of seven games up to and including New Years Day that Ruscoe believes are all winnable.

TNS will not face any of the league’s big guns in that time – though there are local clashes with Newtown and Cefn Druids – and he believes it’s a sign of their blistering start to the season.

“I think it is fair to think that we can take 21 points from the next seven games, if you look at our start to the season,” said Ruscoe, who oversaw his side’s 2-1 win over Barry Town United on Saturday.

“Alright, we’ve drawn a few in that time too but we’ve dominated in certain games and considering the injuries we’ve had to cope with, we’ve come through that spell.

“I would expect it with the form we’re in and after 11 games – we’ve done really well. It’s a chance for us to make our mark as a side that’s dominated from the front.

“We’ve not had this form from the start of the season for about five or six years. We don’t normally have this type of form going into November – it’s usually late December and January when we pick up our form and tempo.

“We usually come from behind but because we’ve our ourselves in this position, we don’t want slips, we don’t want stoppages.

“We have had as big an injury list as we did last season but we’ve been able to manage it because we’ve got a better squad this season and people who have a niggle aren’t missed.”

Despite his confidence, Ruscoe urged his players to be mindful of previous visits to Cardiff.

“Every week, we warn against complacency – I’m just prepping for Cardiff Met who are third bottom with just nine points,” he said.

“Previously, it’s been a tricky place to go for some reasons; some teams don’t do well at certain places.

“I can’t remember a dominant victory there and even last season, we scraped a 93rd minute equaliser when really the squads and the depth we’ve got, they shouldn’t be able to lie with us.

Ruscoe added: “But it’s not been like that and the players need to realise how important a game this and next week is.”

Turn to page 54 for a full match report and action pictures from Saturday’s JD Premier clash with Barry Town United at Park Hall.