A MONTH ago Viney manager Gary Sutton would have bitten your hand off for a draw. However, unbeaten for five games on the trot, he views things differently now.

This result, he says firmly, was two points dropped.

"We are playing much better football now and this was definitely a game we could and should have won. Had we taken our chances the results are such that instead of being 12th we would have jumped four places. It's that tight, so you can see there is a lot to play for," he says.

Having flirted with relegation for a number of seasons Viney are enjoying a new lease of life.

The return to football of the talented Curtis Russell, who had been pressing hard for a place in Lydney's senior rugby team, has given Sutton more strength in depth than for several seasons.

"We have also developed a very strong team spirit and that has gone a long way to making us much more competitive," he says.

And, he adds, it is always nice to have a player on a goal-scoring streak. That man is Carl James who netted for the seventh time in seven games on Saturday.

Sutton says he now has a settled side and a team capable of playing some excellent football.

"I thought we were superb in the first-half when perhaps we played the best football we have achieved this season. That said, our second half performance was dire and we played probably our worst football of the season," he said.

Sutton named defender Matt Chandler as his man-of-the-match.

"He had an outstanding game but I really want to stress our improvement has been brought about by a tremendous team effort. We have three difficult games to come in the run-up to Christmas and it will be interesting to see how we develop in the New Year. I'm confident we can do well," said Sutton.