UNLIKE the nearby castle, the walls of St Briavels football club have been battered and breached this season. But, never fear, reinforcements are at hand...battles may have been lost, but not the war!

The raiders from Newent came and conquered in convincing style on Saturday, but the St Briavels boys never gave in. For the first time this season they assembled a full squad and even mustered three substitutes.

Three promotions in four seasons and four impressive cup wins created an air of invincibility at St Briavels. But those in the know knew the step up into Premier Division was going to be a step too far.

Captain Chris Forster explained: "We actually finished third in our division last season but I guessed we would go up. It has coincided with the loss of a number of players and, to be honest, we have yet to adjust to life in the Premier Division.

"It has been a struggle to get enough players and our manager Rob Meek has had to play in every game. He has done really well but when he plays the average age of the team goes up from 25 to 40!"

Forster remains confident better times are just around the corner.

"For the first time this season we had a squad of 14 but Newent were too good. There is a big divide in this league with very strong teams at the top. I'm convinced we can at least finish in midtable and we are hoping to start with a win against Lydney this weekend," he says.

The vital ingredients, says Forster, are in place and the team is a happy one.

"We are lucky to have Jill Skidmore as secretary and a good manager in Rob Meek. They do such a lot behind the scenes and we also have a very supportive sponsor in Morgan Engineering."

Outstanding players this season have included Andy Batock and Pete Meredith and with the squad now strengthened Forster is increasingly confident that as players have to compete for places so results will improve.

Forster says: "We have had two drawn matches and played well in a tight game against Redbrook. Our only win this season has been in a cup match against Whitecroft and our hope is that we can have another cup run.

"It might look as though we have been in a bit of a mess this season but I hope we have turned the corner and that better times are ahead."