Anthony Johnson is braced for Chester’s ‘toughest test so far’ as in-form Kidderminster Harriers visit the Deva Stadium tonight.

As the Blues continue to claw back their fixture deficit after severe water damage to their home ground, they face a stern test from the high-flying Harriers.

Currently second in the league, the unbeaten Midlanders are on a four-game winning streak and dominated York City on Saturday, winning 3-0.

And Chester’s joint-manager Johnson expects to come up against the ‘best footballing side in the division’ when they host Neil McFarlane’s team.

He said: “We’ve got nothing but respect for Kidderminster and the way they’ve been playing this season. They’ve been absolutely superb and we’re under no illusions that we’ll be facing the best footballing side in the division.

“They’re coming here off the back of a great win at York and are flying right now, and without a doubt they’ll be up there competing at the end of the season. For us this is a really useful guide of where we’re at as a club and a really good test of our own qualities.”

Chester head into the contest buoyed by an impressive 2-0 success at Boston United, a result that saw them record a second successive clean sheet.

Johnson has been heartened by the improvements to the Blues’ back line, insisting that an increased focus on defensive shape in training has paid off.

He added: “It’s something we’ve worked hard on and I think we’re seeing some positive signs of improvement. People look at the eight goals we conceded at Blyth and the three against Bradford and get the wrong impression. The truth is we’ve got the second best clean sheet ratio in this division with four and it’s something me and Bernard take seriously.

“We’ve had to restrict how attacking we are at times to keep things tighter, but as we saw against Boston - defensively we looked much more solid. That’s encouraging and hopefully we’ll continue to build on it.”

The victory at Boston came at a cost, however, with skipper Scott Burton and goalkeeper Grant Shenton picking up injuries. Both will be assessed before tonight’s game, while Dominic Smalley is sidelined with a shoulder injury.