Barnet make the short trip to Welling United on Saturday to face a Wings side who are unbeaten at home in the Conference this term.

Jamie Day’s side had started the season by failing to win any of their first seven Conference fixtures, but have since picked up four wins and tasted defeat just three times – each time away from home – to move out of the relegation zone and up to 17th place.

A 1-0 defeat at Southport – a place below the Wings in the league standings – was a blow last time out, as was the 2-1 FA Cup fourth qualifying round defeat to Isthmian Premier Division high-fliers Maidstone United on Saturday.

Welling’s preparation for the game was not ideal though, with Reading loanee goalkeeper Jonathan Henley denied permission by his parent club to play in the competition.

Player-manager Day quickly snapped up last year’s player of the season Lee Butcher on a non-contract basis, whilst signing full Lichtenstein international Benji Buchel on loan from Championship side Bournemouth, who went straight into the side.

Crystal Palace centre-back Michael Chambers has also joined the Wings on a month’s loan. The 6ft 5in defender has previously turned out for Dulwich Hamlet. The 20-year-old joined the Eagles from the Isthmian Premier Division side in January 2012 for £100,000, but has yet to make his debut for the South Londoners.

The summer saw the loss of the club’s top-scorer for the past two seasons, Ross Lafayette, to League Two new-boys Luton Town. Lafayette hit 35 goals in two seasons at Park View Road before making the step up to the Football League and thus far, Harry Beautyman has been the player to take on the goal-scoring mantle.

Beautyman, 22, has hit ten goals in just 17 Conference starts for the Wings – already a drastic improvement on last season’s return of three in 30 outings. Formerly of Leyton Orient and Sutton United, Beautyman is a midfielder by trade, making his haul even more impressive.

And he puts his fine form down to a summer spent practicing yoga in 40 degree heat.

He told the Non-League Paper: “I worked really hard over the summer, and I mean really hard. It was little things. I was going to Bikram Yoga, to get more flexible, I was going to the gym, going over the park and doing sprints by myself.”

Beautyman’s frustrating first season with the Wings could largely be put down to two ankle ligament tears.

He explained: “It took me about eight games to find my form when I came back because I’d been out for quite a while. I’ve never been injured before so I found it hard to deal with. Mentally I was a bit upset and a bit stressed.

“I wasn’t playing bad, but I wasn’t playing great. By the last four games of the season I felt back to my best. I felt sharp. Obviously by then it’s too late.”

Last season saw the first meetings between the Bees and the Wings, with both games ending in draws.

Keanu Marsh-Brown’s penalty secured a 1-1 draw at Welling in October following Andy Yiadom’s red, before a goalless stalemate at The Hive in November.

Welling United XI vs. Maidstone United: Buchel; Williams, Fyfield, Chambers, Jefford; Bassle, Gallagher, Beautyman, Healy; Marsh, St Amie.