Win or we're going only one way...

"IT IS one of the most important games in the club's history," admitted Whyteleafe boss Nicky English of Saturday's game against Ramsgate.

Whyteleafe sit second to bottom of the Ryman League Division One South, with only Croydon Athletic, who wrote to the league on Tuesday to resign, keeping them off the bottom. English's team haven't won a game since the end of November, and things are beginning to look grim.

But while the Leafe manager conceded that his side were unlikely to beat table-topping sides such as Whitehawk, who beat Leafe last Saturday, or Maidstone United, where English's men will play on January 28, the Church Road boss believes Saturday's home game against Ramsgate is winnable.

"I didn't really look at the likes of Godalming, Worthing or Whitehawk as realistic chance of wins, the same with Maidstone United in a couple of weeks," English said. "But I think Ramsgate is a big, big chance. We need to get some points on the board.

"We could have nicked it away at Ramsgate earlier in the season but we were a bit unlucky, which is really the story of our season.

"It is a vitally important game. It is really one of the most important games in the club's history because the board and the fans don't want to see the club go down."

And English believes Leafe will need at least 36 points to stay up, which would mean winning around half of their remaining games this season.

"We have 15 games left and I think we will need to win seven, or the equivalent points, to stay up depending on what Burgess Hill and Whitstable do," he said. "The chairman realises the situation and is improving the budget.

"I had no budget last year and a tiny budget this year but we are trying our best with what we have. This will be one of the hardest holes I've had to dig myself out of, but it can be done. Last year we were in a similar position and we went on a great run that got us out of trouble, so hopefully we can do that again.

"Keeping them up last year was as good a feeling as winning the league for me. We will be everyone's favourite for the drop at the moment but win a couple of games and that will change; just look at Crawley Down."