CHESTER must adopt a siege mentality to sustain their push for promotion and silverware this term, says Anthony Johnson.

The Blues boss, whose side are in FA Trophy first round action at Hednesford Town on Saturday, has urged his players to find a ‘nasty streak’ in the second half of the 2019/20 campaign.

Frustrated by a rare league defeat at Darlington last time out, the 37-year-old joint-manager believes his side are a prized scalp for their National League North rivals.

“Teams change the way they play when they come up against Chester, without a doubt,” he said.

“It’s the same with York. We’re both big clubs with a lot of history and you have to expect that teams will set up differently to take points off us.

“That happens at all levels of football, not just ours and we have to accept it.

“You look at (league leaders) King’s Lynn, who have been a bit of an unknown quantity after getting promoted. Teams play them and look to impose their game on them, but are getting caught out.

“That will change in the second half of the season, I’m sure, when teams are a little bit wiser against them.

“It’s different for us and we have to deal with it by finding a way to break those teams down when they revert to a more defensive shape.

“It’s almost as if we’ve been a bit too nice in games at times when we should have that nasty streak that that allows teams to kill games off.

“There needs to be a siege mentality among everyone at the club so we’re more clinical.”

That ruthless streak was in evidence in Chester’s FA Trophy victory in the last round at Brackley, where Anthony Dudley’s second half strike ended the Northamptonshire club’s unbeaten home record this term.

Meanwhile, Johnson’s attempts to scout Hednesford in midweek were thwarted as the Staffordshire club’s home clash with Nuneaton Borough was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

But he insists that his side will respect the Northern Premier League Central club, who play at Keys Park.

“They’re a team with a lot of players who’ve played at our level of football in the past,” added Johnson.

“We know they’re a big, strong and physical side who are dangerous at set-pieces. They’ve already beaten Blyth in the FA Cup this season, so they’ll be looking to turn over another side from the league above.

“But for us our reaction to last week’s defeat is key. Saturday is all about getting through to the next round and we need to have that single-mindedness about us to get the job done.”

Midfielder Scott Burton is unlikely to feature after sitting out training this week with a calf injury while Craig Mahon remains sidelined with an injured hand.