Midfielder Matt Smart admits nobody can be sure of their place at Eastbourne Borough any more.

Smart has been a regular in the Borough team since arriving from Horsham in 2001 but has found himself on the bench for the opening three games of the season.

Borough brought in seven new players during the summer with Smart finding himself the odd man out in the battle for the two hotly-contested spots in central midfield.

The 33-year-old may be given his first start of the season at Grays Athletic tonight and knows he must grab his opportunity to impress boss Garry Wilson.

Smart said: “No one likes to be on the bench but the manager can only pick 11 players.

“The team picked itself on a lot of occasions last season but the squad is stronger now so there are going to be a few selection headaches for Garry and Nick (Greenwood, assistant manager).

“They have got lots of options so they are able to pick sides to suit certain styles they want to play against whoever the opposition are.

“It is up to those players left out to react in the right way and remind Garry and Nick what they can do when they get the opportunity.

“There is competition all over the park and that is a good position to be in.The players who are out of the team at the moment are raring to go and when they come in they can only be an asset to the team.”

Smart, who scored a late winner in a 1-0 victory at Grays 12 months ago, replaced the injured Neil Jenkins in the first half in the 1-1 draw with Rushden and Diamonds on Saturday with Danny Brown switching to left-back.

Jenkins will miss tonight’s game but his hamstring injury is not as bad as first feared and he could be back in time for Saturday’s home game with bogey side Barrow.

Brown is likely to drop back again with Smart competing with Simon Johnson, Simon Weatherstone and Dan Smith to get the nod in midfield.

Gary Elphick could also come in for his first start of the season if Wilson decides to rest either Marc Pullan or Darren Baker while Nathan Crabb could feature in the squad for the first time.

Grays have continued their remarkable recruitment drive by taking the number of new signings to 16 in the space of two weeks yesterday.

New boss Gary Phillips, who replaced Craig Edwards on the eve of the season, has brought in midfielder Tom Harvey and defender Rio Bryan-Edwards and also recalled George Beavan from a short loan spell with Luton Town.