COLCHESTER Gladiators are hoping for a bumper crowd for their crucial final home game of the season.

They host London Hornets at the Garrison on Sunday, knowing they need a victory to keep their survival hopes alive.

Gladiators sit at the foot of the Southern Football Conference One East division, with just two games remaining against the Hornets.

They face relegation to the third tier of American Football in the UK for the first time in a decade and need to win to take the season down to the final weekend.

The Hornets have surprised many by winning four games so far this year after being promoted.

They have achieved this by a combination of a stingy defence, conceding the fewest points of all teams in the division and a tough ground game, scoring just enough points to edge four low-scoring games.

If the Gladiators win both games, they will be tied with the Hornets at 4-6 but will hold the first tie breaker over them, which is head to head.

However, if the Cats lose their final game to the Exiles, they too, will finish with a 4-6 record.

And with each team holding the head to head over one other, it may go down to points against which is not good for the Gladiators.

While the Gladiators have been competitive in every game this year, they could still go down after winning four games.

That has prompted calls for the league to look at promotion/relegation play-off games to avoid a situation where a relegated team is replaced by a weaker team resulting in a yo-yo effect.

Under rookie head coach and former defensive stand out Luke Box, the team has shown great improvement over the last four games.

But after losing their first five games, they have given themselves a mountain to climb if they are to avoid relegation.

A season that began with great hope and a new coaching team under Box, threatened to spiral out of control after five opening defeats.

But to even be in with a chance of avoiding the drop is testament to the players' determination and refusal to give up, under trying circumstances.

The team has also been dogged by injury and unavailability testing the squad's depth but they showed great character in beating the Kent Exiles and Cambridgeshire Cats in consecutive weeks, despite some players having to play both ways.

Sunday's game will be at the Gladiators' regular home ground of VC Corporal Budd Gymnasium Rugby Pitches, Berechurch Road, Colchester, kick-off 2.30pm.

The return fixture takes place the following week, in London.