‘Nothing short of a miracle’ – Littlehampton Town boss hails form turn-around as Golds go for safety

A 1-0 win away to play-off hopefuls Beckenham last Saturday, thanks to a goal by Nodirbek Bobomurodov, left the Marigolds eight points clear of Phoenix Sports – the only side in the bottom four who can still catch them – with four games to play.

Littlehampton have won four of their past five in the league – after a run of four straight defeats that looked like it was going to lead to relegation.

All this comes with the Sussex Senior Cup final ahead of them – Hand and George Gaskin’s men take on Horsham in the county showpiece at Brighton’s Aex Stadium on Thursday, May 8.

Hand said: “The win at Beckenham was huge. With Phoenix winning again as well it was so important to keep our noses in front of them.

"The performance itself could have been a lot better but at this stage of the season it’s just about putting points on the board.

"Beckenham are a top side and not many teams have gone there and won this season.

"Our turn-around has been nothing short of a miracle. We were shipping goals left right and centre, we didn’t pick up a point for around 10 games not too long ago, we were in the bottom four and looked almost down and out with Phoenix on the way up.

"But the resilience of this group has been unbelievable.

"We’ve now won four of our past five, drawing the other and conceding just once in that time.”

Have thoughts of the visit to the Amex had to be put to one side until league survival is assured? No, says Hand.

"It’s not a case of putting the final to one side," he said. “There’s boys playing for their shirts – it’s a hell of a motivation.

"We’ve turned ourselves into a proper side, gritty, tough to beat and scoring goals at the same time.

"One more win will get us over the line so we’re hoping we can get that in front of our supporters Friday.”

It’s Ashford who visit The Sportsfield on Friday, before the Marigolds go to Broadbridge Heath on Easter Monday.