Wealdstone and Harrow Borough lock horns on Saturday with rival bosses Gordon Bartlett and David Howell vowing to bring derby day delight and Christmas cheer to their fans.

The Grosvenor Vale showdown (3pm kick off) will be just the seventh Ryman Premier League meeting between the sides and a bumper crowd is expected with local bragging rights up for grabs.

Stones have won three to Harrow's two triumphs while the last game between the sides ended in a 1-1 draw in March. Borough have not beaten Stones in the league since doing the double over them in the 2004/05 season and manager Howell is confident his side can end that barren run this weekend.

"History counts for nothing," he said. "I only deal with the here and now and while Wealdstone had the honours last year (5-1 on Boxing Day) it would be good to do something to address the balance this time around.

"This is not just another league game. It means so much to both clubs and to the people in the area and the supporters."

His opposite number, meanwhile, insists he is treating the derby clash like any other match but wants to reward the Stones fans for their tireless efforts in rejuvanating the Vale.

"If it wasn't for our fans we would not be in existence," said Bartlett. "Saturday is an opportunity for them to get a lot of satisfaction out of the day providing we get the result we want. It will be a battle but if the result goes the other way there are going to be a lot of disappointed people out there."

Bartlett is not taking Borough lightly. After a poor start to the season Howell's men have found some consistency in both performances and results and have a talismanic winger in Robin Shroot, a one time Stones target.

"He is a very good player," added the Stones boss. "You only have to look at his track record. When he joined Harrow they had a huge pick up in form. He has been outstanding recently and you would definitely have to identify him as one of their danger men.

"Harrow have had a fantastic run and their confidence must be extremely high but this is another league game we want to win. We will treat it in exactly the same way as we treat the others.

"These derby games are for the supporters. Last year's game (5-1) was great but we were just pleased to win a game, not just because it happened to be against Harrow Borough. There is major rivalry but it is mainly between the fans."

Bartlett wants to ensure his young squad know how much the game means to the fans without piling on any extra pressure.

"If the players were all local then it (the derby) would have more significance but both our and Harrow's squads are very young and don't have that history. Some of my players might not realise the importance of the fixture and how much it means to the fans but that will be mentioned to them before the game.

"Of course we want to win it but we don't want to go into it putting unneccessary pressure on ourselves."

Howell, meanwhile, hopes his charges will thrive in what is sure to be a pressure cooker atmosphere.

"My players should know what the game is about and if they don't I will tell them," commented the Borough manager. "They will soon realise it is a bit different than a normal game when they get out there - it has a big game feel about it."

Howell is also targeting victory in a bid to reel in Stones in the table. Prior to last weekend's matches Harrow were in 17th, seven places and six points behind Bartlett's men with a game in hand.

"If, assuming we beat Hastings and Wealdstone don't get a result at Sutton, we will only be three points behind them," said Howell as the Observer went to press before the weekend. "It is such a tight league and that is why you will never hear me talking about a relegation battle or the play-offs."

The Harrow manager is unlikely to make too many changes to his starting line-up and that will spell disappointment for Nick Salapatas, who recently switched allegiances after failing to win a regular starting place for Wealdstone.

"I don't need to put any more fuel on the fire to motivate Wealdstone," added Howell.

Greg Ngoyi could come into the fold for Stones after netting a brace in their 3-0 Middlesex Senior Cup win over Wembley.