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A tight squeeze.

2/ 4/2008

ASHTON United manager Danny Johnson hailed his players for meeting a four-point target from their last two games.

A draw against Kendal Town, coupled with Monday night’s victory over Matlock Town sent the Robins seven places up the UniBond League Premier Division table.

With the league table looking so bunched up, every point is vital for the Robins as they enter the business end of the season.

They have another double-header this weekend with Saturday’s trip to Ilkeston Town followed by Monday’s visit of Marine to Hurst Cross.

Johnson said: "I said to the players before the Kendal game that we needed four points and they’ve done that – we’ve now got to take another four points from the next two games.

"The league table’s unbelievable if you look at it. Because we won on Monday, we’re now 11th out of 21 teams but I think we’re still only three points off the drop zone and five off second-bottom!

"I keep saying though that if we hadn’t drawn half of the 14 games we have done, we’d be well away from the relegation zone but the league is what it is."

Johnson must go into the final five gams of the season without Liam McManus who broke his nose during Monday’s win over Matlock.

Having been briefly unconscious, McManus came around before being taken to hospital for examination.

That ended with the news that he requires an operation to reset the nose, which will take place next Wednesday, but keeps him out until pre-season.

Johnson is hopeful of landing Steve Aspinall to cover McManus’ absence and add further quality to his squad.

He said: "I think we’ve added a lot of quality in the shape of Nathan Wharton and Stuart Howson. Defensively, we’re a lot tighter and that’s something we can hopefully build on for next season."