Martin Allen says he does not care ‘one little bit’ how much Forest Green Rovers have spent ahead of Barnet’s trip to the New Lawn on Saturday, insisting his sole focus is on the Bees.

Ady Pennock’s side are rumoured to have one of the biggest budgets in the Conference and have signed experienced front pair Lee Hughes and Jon Parkin this year, as well as former Bristol Rovers defender Danny Coles.

However, the Bees boss is not fazed by the budget available to Pennock at the Gloucestershire outfit.

He said: “Yes, I think they are the bookmaker’s favourites to win the league. A lot gets said; there are a lot of rumours and speculation they spend all this money.

“I have no idea how much they spend, I have no interest in what they spend and I do not care what they spend. That is none of my business; I really do not care one little bit how much what they spend or how much they pay.

“All I am really interested in is the welfare of our players, our squad; the welfare of our staff and keeping our supporters happy and to make sure I keep our chairman happy.

After winning their first three games of the season, Pennock’s side when five without a win before beating high-flying Halifax a fortnight ago, and have since moved up to ninth place.

A further four points from a possible six have been garnered since beating the Shaymen, but Allen is expecting a test on-par with any other week of the season.

He explained: “Every game we play has been tough; there is no doubt about it. We have seen in recent games, some of the teams that have been near the bottom of the league, have been very difficult opponents.

“We see it in the Premier League, we see it in the Conference and we see it in any game in any competition: we have got to make sure we are on our game, everybody has got the right attitude, we have got the right spirit and if we played to our best, I always feel we can win. It does not matter where the other teams are in the league; we have got to be at our best to win.”

The Bees will be without captain Charlie MacDonald once more, as the striker recovers from a medial ligament strain in his knee, whilst Mauro Vilhete is getting ‘closer’ but is not expected to feature at Forest Green.

Winger Keanu Marsh-Brown will also miss out with a recurring thigh problem but there is better news regarding defender Jack Saville, who is expected to return to training either today (Thursday) or Friday.