JAMIE INSALL has offered The New Saints a timely reminder of what they can expect at Connah’s Quay Nomads tomorrow night.

The livewire striker expects the reigning champions to try and play their usual brand of free-flowing football in high winds on what is expected to be a heavy Deeside Stadium pitch.

But Insall warned: “I expect them to come and try to play football and be cute, but unfortunately when you come to Connah’s Quay it’s not as easy as that.

“You are coming to the trenches as the gaffer says, it’s a horrible place to come to and we will be ready for whatever they have to throw at us.”

Nomads’ home record suggests it’s not a place that many clubs - from any league - relish playing at.

Andy Morrison’s men have won 13 and drawn the other three of 16 home games in all competitions, scoring 43 goals and shipping just 11 at the other end.

“Our home record speaks for itself, but we are hard to beat, wherever we’ve gone,” said Insall. “The two games we’ve lost were at TNS, where we deserved at least a draw, and at Druids, where we’ve dominated the game, we didn’t put our chances away and we’ve been caught on the counter.

“Apart from that, we’ve been strong all season and our home form proves that.”

That form shows exactly why Nomads are a point clear at the top of the table, Insall continuing: “For us it’s just another game and we will go about it like we do every game, whether that’s bottom of the league or top of the league.

“We have a structure, we keep to it and we do our best to get victories, but they are going to be up for it as much as us.”

Scott Ruscoe’s Saints head to Flintshire in second spot and Insall reckons the visitors are under more pressure with their dominance of the division under serious threat.

“TNS, 100 per cent,” declared Insall when asked which team will feel the heat tomorrow evening.

“As much as we are going into the game confident, looking to win and not prepared to sit back, for me there is a lot of pressure on them.

“They’ve won the title for years and years and all we keep hearing is ‘if they play as well as they can, they will do this and that’, but it’s a one off game, I fancy us and the pressure will be on them if we stay top of the league.”

After suffering a two-year suspension from the game, Insall is, understandably, enjoying being back playing football week in, week out.

But with a wry smile, the 27-year-old said: “If you don’t get excited to play these games you are in the wrong sport.

“For me, being out for a while and coming back, these are the games you want to be playing in.

“This is probably the biggest game of the season to date.”

Win, lose or draw, Nomads won’t have given anything other than absolutely everything for their club and manager.

“Obviously if you can play football, people say it’s a bonus, but it really is here,” said Insall.

“The gaffer wants people that can stand up and be counted for, people he can lay his hat on us as he says, and we’ve got a lot of people in our squad that wear that on their chest.”