Barnet will travel to Hemel Hempstead Town in a friendly match on Tuesday (kick-off 7.45pm) and interim assistant manager Henry Newman has promised several first-team players will be involved.

With Boxing Day falling on Monday the Bees have a nine-day gap between Saturday’s game against Stevenage and their penultimate game of the year at Cheltenham Town.

Speaking this morning, Newman said: “We will be playing the majority of the players who have not started a game since Rossi and I have been in control. 

“We are very much looking to give those players the opportunity to show what they can do in a first-team environment.

“It will be a balance between first-team players and some of the youngsters – there are three or four of them starting. We’ve got a couple of trialists as well who we are looking at.

“Hemel will be playing a strong side as they’ve got a nine-day break like us before their game on Boxing Day. We want to test to the players and give them a good run-out.”

There is no game on the 28th of December this year. However, the Bees play twice in the first week of January and they have only a day’s rest between the trip to Luton Town and the visit from Plymouth.

Eames and Newman will need their entire squad to get through what promises to be a testing period and competition is rife.

“We’ve got four games in 12 days over Christmas so there are going to be places up for grabs,” said Newman. “Of course, there are always places up for grabs when you’re coming off the back of a defeat at the weekend.

“Rossi and I will be looking at it and thinking about how we can right the wrongs of Saturday going into the Cheltenham game on Tuesday. 

“We will look at personnel therefore, and players have the chance to stake their claim for a place.”