Wealdstone's Luke Pigden cannot wait to wind up a former team-mate in the New Year’s Day derby with Harrow Borough.

Midfielder Pigden provided the ammunition for striker Steve Butterworth when he was his captain at Carshalton earlier this season, but the pair will be on opposite sides of a great divide when the first ball of 2014 is kicked, with the former now an established blue and Butterworth firmly camped in the red side of town.

While 24-year-old Pigden acknowledges the goal threat posed by his former fellow Robin, he labelled Butterworth ‘a bit of a whinger’ – something he plans to exploit to the stones’ advantage on Wednesday.

“Steve got some goals for us when he was at Carshalton. He is a good player with a good footballing brain,  but I’ve already had a bit of banter with him because he’s a bit of a moaner on the pitch, so I’m going to try and get in his ear.

“He loves a moan up session, so I’ll be trying to get right under his skin and rattle him a bit and hopefully it will be the outcome we are looking for.”

Stones will be looking to bounce back from only a second league defeat of the season at home to Hampton on Saturday as they bid to hold onto the narrowest of leads at the top of the Ryman Premier League table.

The loss to the Beavers was the first Pigden has experienced in a Wealdstone shirt, but he insists despite the reverse the Stones’ class of 2013-14 still strikes fear into opponents.

And he claimed the feelings provoked by the defeat in the dressing-room afterwards mean Borough and the rest should expect a backlash.

He added: “The boys are down a bit, but it is a good thing we are upset and unhappy because no championship winning side or one with designs like that accepts losing as they demand more of each other.

“We were on the crest of a wave and there has been a lot of expectation with people saying can we do it this time as for the last few years we have been that nearly side with playoffs heartbreak and that.

“We are not getting carried away with all that, but we will use the hurt of this defeat to kick on and it should add that little bit of extra spice to the game New Year’s Day.

“We have got teams sitting in the away changing room thinking what are we going to do about Glen (Little)? What are we going to do about Scott (McGleish)? What are we going to do about Tom Pett or Jonny Wright?

“So with the side we have got we should not have to fear any player or team.”