Blues hooker Charlie Clare admits he is looking forward to the prospect of playing against former employers Jersey this weekend, but insists he will have no time for niceties come kick-off.

Clare spent less than a year on loan at the St Peter ground as he looked to recover from a long-term shoulder injury, before signing for the Blues in 2013.

And despite the fond memories of Island life he has from his time spent with this weekend’s opponents, the 23-year-old front-row forward believes that the ferocity of the battle upfront will be his and his team-mates main focus on Saturday afternoon.

“It was a great club for me, and I have a lot of respect for them,” Clare said.

“I always enjoy going back, I have still got some mates out there and I really enjoyed my time in the team.

“The match is going to be a hugely confrontational clash.

“They have a really strong set piece, it is a tough place to go and play and they have started gaining some momentum in the past few weeks.

“They possess a really good scrum, so we will be looking to try and meet fire with fire in that department, and they are strong in the contact.

“There is also some star quality around the pitch, and our aim will be to keep them away from possession as much as possible and take our opportunities when they come.”

Bedford secured a try bonus point thanks to a 38-8 success over Plymouth Albion last time out, a result that was welcome relief following successive defeats to London Scottish and Rotherham Titans.

With the middle of the Greene King IPA Championship table so tight, another victory this weekend could provide the Goldington Road outfit with some much needed stability as they make a push for the top four – a fact not lost on Clare.

“It’s a tough league to build consistency in, and that’s the same for every team I would say, but we have been a bit up and down,” Clare added.

“Hopefully we can use the win over Plymouth as a springboard to keep developing and picking up those positive results.

“We are looking to finish in the top four, and we still have an outside chance of that.

“There is a lot of work to do to put ourselves in that position, but there is definitely an opportunity to make a push for it if we can maintain a consistency in our game and get some big results.”