ANDY Crowther admits he could not have asked for more from his squad with Droitwich Spa top of the table with 10 games left to play this season.
The Saltmen have enjoyed an impressive first season at Step Five and find themselves firmly in the Hellenic League Premier Division title race.
Spa sit two points clear of Roman Glass St George at the top of the table but the remaining three teams in the play-off places all have games in hand on the Saltmen.
As many as six clubs, including Droitwich, find themselves in the title race with 10 league games left to play.
And Crowther anticipates an exciting end to the campaign with lots of twists and turns expected.
Crowther said: “I couldn’t have asked for any more. We’re sitting top with 10 games left to play.
“There’s a few teams that can catch us but it’s going to be an exciting end to the season.
“The management team and the lads are looking forward to the run-in.
“Every team at the top has got to play each other so there’s going to be a lot more twists and turns.
“The biggest thing we’ve got to do is just concentrate on each game.
“If we can carry on the form we’re in at the moment, who knows what can happen.”
Spa could not build on their most recent victory against Cribbs after their scheduled weekend fixture against Lydney Town fell foul of the weather.
The Saltmen return to action against divisional rivals Fairford Town in the Marsh Challenge Cup this weekend.
Droitwich completed a league double over Fairford, winning both games by a single goal.
And Crowther is expecting another tough encounter against the Gloucestershire side this weekend.
Crowther added: “It is a bit frustrating because you just want to continue the form, especially playing at home.
“Ideally you want to get the points on the board but there’s a couple of players coming back [from injury] who get another week of training before the next game.
“Fairford have had two very good results recently, it shows how dangerous they’re going to be.
“It’s a cup game, we’re not going into it lightly, we’re going out to win it, especially at the quarter-final stage.
“It’s going to be a very tough game.”
Crowther managed his 200th game in charge of Droitwich against Fairford in December last year.
The Spa boss has guided the club to two promotions and two play-off finals in his five seasons at the helm.
And Crowther praised the continuously evolving infrastructure of the club and described Spa as a ‘little family’.
Crowther said: “The club have been preparing for something like this [progressing through the divisions] with everything that’s been going on off the field.
“To be involved with it and the majority of the lads who have been here for five or six years, it’s been brilliant and long may it continue.
“In this day and age, you don’t really get a lot of managers or players sticking around that long.
“There’s a lot of players who have been here a long time now and it just shows that the club is doing everything right on the pitch and off the pitch.
“The respect between myself and the players is there and that’s why we’ve been so successful over the last four or five years.
“I always say it’s like a little family and it always has been.
“We’ve added the right players to that family and we’re continuing to show the form we have over the last four years.”
Droitwich host Fairford on Saturday, February 14 with kick-off at 3pm at the King George Playing Fields.
