Drier patch of ground westwards we must occupy (5)
I believe the answer is:
towel
'drier' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'patch of ground westwards we must occupy' is the wordplay.
'patch of ground' becomes 'lot'.
'westwards' is a reversal indicator (letters go right to left or from 'east' to 'west').
'must occupy' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters occupy or enter the word).
'lot' back-to-front is 'tol'.
'tol' going around 'we' is 'TOWEL'.
(Other definitions for towel that I've seen before include "Piece of absorbent cloth or paper for drying" , "what sweater needs?" , "Owlet (anag)" , "Drier" , "This could dry up" .)