FOR the first time in months, struggling Chippenham Town have competition for places.

The Bluebirds travel to Chelmsford for a crucial relegation battle tomorrow and manager Steve White has the luxury of a 17-man squad after weeks of juggling little more than the bare 11.

Teenage striker James Constable has been drafted in to bolster numbers, while Martin Paul, Colin Towler and Mark Badman continued their recovery from injury in a friendly against Paulton on Tuesday night.

Of the three, Paul's comeback was most encouraging, with the striker making a scoring comeback to give White food for thought.

While Chippenham's performances have improved under White, a lack of killer instinct in front of goal means the new Town boss is still looking for his first win.

But Paul's return and the signing of Constable gives Chalky five strikers to choose from.

White hopes he can get the best out of Paul as he did when the two were together at Bath, but the former Bristol Rovers forward is not guaranteed an immediate return to the starting line up.

"We managed to get 80 goals out of Martin in two and a half seasons at Bath," said White.

"Hopefully we can do that again but he must realise he's going to have to work hard to get in my team. He can't coast anymore."

So Paul might have to settle for a place on the bench alongside Constable as White keeps faith in the Charlie Griffin/Adie Mings partnership that has worked tirelessly without much reward of late.

Badman and Towler will also be substitutes at best as White eases them back into action.

While the Bluebirds faithful welcome back a handful of their favourites, there are still long-term problems in the camp.

Goalkeeper Pat Mountain has had an operation on his cruciate ligaments and may miss the rest of the season, while Mark Harrington (foot) and Steve Brown (leg) are still some way off.

Simon Charity has flu and will stay away to avoid infecting his team-mates.