"TOO little too late" was the honest assessment of Soudley's assistant manager Martin Stephens. After watching his team's excellent victory over Longford he said the fate of the village side in the Senior League had already been sealed.

"We're going down. After four seasons in the Senior League and after being only three points off promotion last year it's disappointing for us. But, to be honest, we have not played well enough. It's really as simple as that," he said.

Stephens fears the dreaded slippery slope – back-to-back demotions.

He says: "We don't want that to happen. We are meeting next week to get things in place for life in the North Gloucester Premier League. We have already appointed Steve Hill as the new manager and the aim is to try and bounce straight back.

"Manager Ian Pritchard had some good ideas but we lost a couple of players who left to play at a higher level, and a lack of commitment developed. Training was hit or miss and that was reflected in team selection - we never once picked the same team for consecutive games," he said.

There were, he said, plenty of positives at Soudley.

"Our pitch is the envy of many other teams and we are improving the changing quarters. Unfortunately we do not have a clubhouse and that holds us back," he says.

Reflecting on the season, Stephens said there had been some good performances and every effort had been made to play attractive football. But the real story had been one of missed chances and indifferent defending.

"We needed a bit of luck but it was missing. We developed the losing habit," he said.

Saturday's win was well deserved, though Stephens admits that, for a rare change, his team enjoyed some good fortune as Longford twice hit the posts.

In a sound performance top scorer Teddy Adams scored twice with the third goal contributed by Duncan Grindle. A highlight was a great double save by 'keeper Simon Kear.

But now it's all eyes on the future.

"Steve Hill has managed the team before and knows exactly what is needed. He has some ideas and we are optimistic that we can make it back to the Senior League before too long," said Stephens.