BASINGSTOKE will have a new skipper for their basement clash at home to Blackheath tomorrow.

Flanker Richard Baker (right) will lead out the home side because Neal Taylor is unable to train while his work in sports promotion keeps him in Athens.

Taylor, who skippered Basingstoke to a league and cup double last season, will continue to play on Saturdays. Coach Nigel Redman said: "Richard Baker is the pick of the players so far this season and he deserves this."

Redman believes a small squad and player unavailability this season is having an adverse affect on results.

"It's annoying and frustrating that the team has never been the same this season," he said.

"We have a hard core who play every game. I wish we had a stronger squad to put pressure on people but we don't have the luxury of doing that."

Redman believes there is a difference between the forwards and the backs.

"The backs are not the same each game and behind the scrum we've not been so good.

"It's up to the players what they do. We don't pay their wages so we don't have a say in whether they play or not but I get very, very frustrated.

"It's something the players have to attend to."

Tomorrow, prop Neil Young, scrum-half Andy Rogers and centre Tony Jones are unavailable.

Fly-half Sid Claffey is back from holiday but is not certain to recover his place, taken by West Indies international Jamie Waters last Saturday, when Basingstoke lost 34-8 at Clifton.

Former captain Phil Della-Savina, out since November is also unlikely to return tomorrow.

Redman is demanding a full 80 minutes of concentration from his struggling side.

"Saturday's match followed the trend of the season so far of games we could do a lot better in but it was not through a want of trying.

"The players have shown they can perform. They've got to do it for 80 minutes because they're more than capable of performing at this level."

Tomorrow is an important day in the relegation stakes with the bottom four teams playing one another.

Basingstoke, third from bottom in division three south, tackle Blackheath, a place lower, while bottom side Weston-super-Mare travel to Cheltenham, fourth from bottom.

Redman said: "The Blackheath match is a four-pointer because they're below us and we want to keep them below us. But, because we beat them away, it doesn't mean we're going to beat them again."