EBBW Vale can make it a magnificent seven wins on the spin when head coach Greg Woods faces former club Cross Keys tomorrow (kick-off 5.15pm) – but the Steelmen know they must guard against complacency.

Sitting proudly at the top of the Principality Premiership just ahead of reigning champions Merthyr, Ebbw welcome Keys to Eugene Cross Park for a Gwent derby they will be big favourites for.

However, Woods, who enjoyed a 15-year coaching career at Pandy Park before leaving in January to join Ebbw, expects nothing but problems from a Keys side smarting following a 36-35 loss to Cardiff.

He said: “Keys is a club I hold very dear to my heart.

“I’ve got some fantastic memories from my time at the club and they made me who I am as a coach today.

“It’s going to be a huge Gwent derby on Saturday night in front of the S4C cameras which will add an extra edge to things.

“I saw Keys’ game with Cardiff and I thought they were unlucky to lose.

“The message I’ve given to my players is to never be complacent because Keys are a very dangerous side.

“They’re scoring a lot of points this season and they’ve always got a very solid set-piece.

“Damian Welch is a top lineout operator and we’ll need to limit his impact there.

“We need to make sure we keep hold of the ball too because the brand of rugby Keys are playing behind the scrum is the sort of style Morgan Stoddart likes to use.

“They put width on the ball and Jason Tovey is a top operator at fly-half. I expect a really tough battle.”

Keys chief Stoddart has seen his men lose their last three matches, but while they have been shipping points at one end, scoring at the other hasn’t been difficult.

Stoddart’s assistant, former Wales rugby league international Phil Carleton, is excited to be involved in his first Gwent derby after joining Keys from West Wales Raiders in the summer.

And from what he has witnessed so far this season, Keys have what it takes within their ranks to avoid relegation to the Championship.

“We’ve just been a little bit short in the last couple of weeks,” he said.

“But I don’t think we’re too far away from where we want to be.

“Ebbw Vale have done very well at the start of the season and it’s obviously a big game for Greg Woods against his old club. It’s my first derby and it’s the first for a lot of our boys.”

He added: “We’re confident we’ve got enough in the squad to stay in this league, as long as we don’t have games like we did at Carmarthen Quins where we didn’t turn up until it was too late.

“It’s nice to work with Ian Evans and Morgan Stoddart, guys who have played at the top of the game, and we’ve got a great bunch of lads that we are happy with.”

Keys won two of the three league meetings between the teams last season, including a 34-20 victory at Eugene Cross Park.