Boss left proud as crucial win puts Kimberley on the brink of title glory

A huge 3-2 win at second-placed Hinckley on Saturday means the Miners are now nine points clear with four games left to play and looking set to ensure promotion to step five for the first time in the club’s history.

But joint-boss Furnell remains keen to ensure the job is done properly, starting this weekend at fourth-from-bottom Bourne Town.

He said: “Although we enjoyed the win and have opened up a nine-point gap we can't rest on our laurels and know a further four points are needed to get us over the line.

"We travel to Bourne on Saturday fully focused and knowing we have a tough game ahead of us. Bourne had a fantastic result themselves on Saturday in taking two points off another team chasing promotion in the shape of Belper United.

“Bourne have have an upturn in results and given they have already taken two points from us at our place we will plan and prepare for the game in the same way we have done all season.”

Furnell praised his side for their attitude in the lead up to the Hinckley game, as well as in getting the points which were sealed thanks to two goals from Sam Brown and one from Sacha Markelic.

He said: “Going into the Hinckley game there was a lot of noise from outside the club saying the pressure was all on us. We did chuckle at this at our team meeting on Thursday, however we knew it could turn out to be a pivotal game.

“Having watched them twice personally in recent weeks and having reports back from someone we have total trust in we believed we'd seen enough areas in their play we could exploit and this proved to be correct.

“The confidence within the squad is high but one thing we're not is over confident and we know we have to earn the right to win in every game we play whether that's a top of the table clash or a team scrapping for points at the other end of the table.

"I'd like to give a special thank you to all those who travelled to the game on Saturday and have supported us this season. We really do appreciate it and they have played their part all season long. We’re hopeful of repaying that in the coming weeks.”