Hampton & Richmond Borough defender John Scarborough reckons now he has found his feet at the club he can find the form that saw him become second top-scorer at his former club.

The 28-year-old notched his side’s third goal as the Beavers demolished Havant & Waterlooville 4-1 on Saturday, in a game that saw both teams reduced to nine men.

Midfielder Robbie Kember and defender Orlando Jefferey both saw red after a horror challenge on the former sparked a second-half brawl on the south coast.

Scarborough, who switched from relegated Sutton United in the summer, delivered a man of the match performance at the back - alongside skipper Dean Wells - while notching his third goal of the campaign.

He scored eight times during Sutton’s penultimate Blue Square South campaign under former boss Ian Hazel and reckons he’ll back-up manager Alan Devonshire’s claim he will only get better and regularly find the net.

“It has been difficult to adapt to a new system at a new club, but I think I’ve been improving with each game,” he said.

“As captain at Sutton it got me down emotionally and physically when we were losing so much and this move has been a complete fresh start that has allowed me to focus on my own game for a change.

“My old manager Ian always said I should get into double figures and I’d be disappointed not to get near that.

“As a centre-half here you are involved in a lot more set pieces and there are players here who can deliver a cross.

”I’ve set my stall out to get at least ten and I reckon I can get there.”

Jefferey’s straight red card for punching is likely to see him miss three games - Kember’s second yellow card for his reaction will incur a one-match ban - starting with the clash at Fisher Athletic.

Devonshire had no complaints with the dismissals, but questioned the consistency of some refereeing decisions with a host of tackles escaping punishment prior to the bust-up.

He believes he has the resources to cope with the two suspensions with Francis Quarm, Nana Badu, Stuart Lake, Elliott Braithwaite, Craig Tanner - stretchered off on Saturday - and Lawrence Yaku all in the frame for the weekend.

And Scarborough believes the Beavers have the squad to maintain their encouraging start to a second campaign in the Blue Square South.

“We are slowly getting to understand each other. Players can come in to offer different options without weakening the side at all,” he added.

“I’m in a squad that is 100 per cent capable of being in the mix at the top of the table. I’ve played at this level for a long time now and I’m confident we can stay up there.”

Hampton’s next three games: Sept 27 Dartford (FA Cup,a) Oct 4 Fisher Athletic (a) Oct 11 FA Cup (tbc).