Kirkley & Pakefield boss Paul Tong believes the Royals are three wins away from preserving their Ridgeons Premier Division status.

The Kirkley chief was brought in with a remit to avoid relegation and he believes 40 points will be enough to achieve that target.

'We've got to win football matches – we need to get to 40 points as quickly as possible because I think that would keep us in the league,' said Tong, who takes his side to Stanway Rovers this weekend, weather permitting.

'My brief when I took this job was to avoid relegation. If we get three wins from our remaining games then I think we will be there.

'They are young and inexperienced and that's why we've brought a couple of players in to add to that. I'm confident that we will do it, but I've known all along that it will go down to the wire.'

Kirkley's match at home to Brantham last weekend fell victim to the weather and tomorrow's match against Stanway looks likely to go the same way.

However, Tong hopes the rest will give a chance to some of his injured players to get over any knocks they have been carrying.

'It's difficult because we've not been able to train but it's given a few of the lads some time to recover,' he said. 'Russell Stock, Ryan Crisp, Jordan Smith and Ryan De Coteau will all benefit from the rest and we just have to make sure we are ready to go.'