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 being 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."

Whyteleafe host Ramsgate on Saturday at Church Road. Kick off is 3pm.