STARING the very real threat of relegation to National Two squarely in the face, Sedgley Park player-coach Tim Fourie still firmly believes his side holds its fate in its own hands, regardless of what the league table and fixture list may suggest.

"All is not lost yet," he said.

"Only seven points separates us and Pertemps Bees in eleventh place.

"Two wins and other results go our way and we could find ourselves moving up a few places.

"We just have to start doing it against Otley (on Saturday).

"There is still everything left to play for and we have nine games in which to achieve survival and avoid relegation. Our fate is in our own hands.

"We can blame no-one for the predicament we find ourselves in but ourselves, but the attitude in training and in games is 100 per cent focused on getting results and staying up."

To help him and his charges in their quest for First Division survival, he admitted they could do with a bit of luck.

"Throughout a season luck is supposed to even itself out, but we are still waiting for ours," he said.

"You can't use refereeing decisions solely to excuse where we are, but had we had decisions go our way at Otley and then at home to Pertemps Bees and Bedford, we could have had another 10 points or so, which would have put us up in mid-table.

"If we don't get the slice of luck we are owed in the next nine games it might be we get it via the RFU deciding to suspend relegation this season in order to allow the First Division to grow from 14 to 16 clubs.

"The RFU is due to make a decision on it this Friday.

"But I don't really want to go there because the matter is not in our hands, we cannot influence it so it is pointless even thinking about it.

"Out on the pitch with the ball in our hands we can affect the outcome and decide our own fate. If we win games and climb the table we stay up, it's as simple as that. "

Thes heartbreaking finale at Sharmans Cross Road on Saturday last week, saw the Pertemps Bees score a converted try in the fifth minute of injury time to turn a 5-6 deficit into a 12-6 victory.

"It was the first time in my life that I've felt that gutted at losing. I thought I was going to throw up," admitted Fourie

"We showed great hunger for the game and a commitment to defence, we just couldn't control things, we played raw rugby.

"We've been working on keeping the ball alive when we get behind defences, but against the Bees we just couldn't get up in support quick enough.

"We made wrong decisions at the wrong times, we didn't play with our heads up and lacked the composure necessary to finish them off.

"At the end of the game we looked like a team hanging on instead of one going for more points.

"They looked like they knew they could not win and just decided to throw it around in the hope of forcing a winning score, which they did.

"Had the final whistle blown 10 seconds earlier we would have been bouncing off the walls, as it was it didn't and we were left bitterly disappointed.

"But Otley at home on February 11 is another game, and we believe we can get ourselves out of the mess we have created, and with a bit of luck we will."