Halstead Town manager Mark Benterman says he will not allow his team’s season to go flat.

It has been a tough campaign for the Humbugs in Thurlow Nunn League division one this year, with injuries and losing players to clubs higher up the non-league pyramid hitting their attempts to stage a consistent promotion push.

That has left them sitting ninth in the table and last weekend’s 2-0 defeat by third-placed Swaffham Town has left a place among the scrap at the top of the table looking a distant prospect for Benterman’s team.

He was disappointed that they had let their home fans down with an under-par display against Swaffham, but the Town boss said he won’t be calling time on this year’s action.

He said: “I won’t allow it and I said that to the boys.

“There are still 30 points to play for and I want us to get to 60.

“We will get them and if the players want to be in the side and playing for them then great, but if not then they can clear off.”

To get past that mark will take six wins from their final ten outings, starting with today’s trip to Dereham Town.

Benterman added: “I have pride and I have ambition and the club is ambitious too so we have to play for every point.

“Some players let us down on Saturday (against Swaffham) and they have held their hands up.

“We had to go in the bar after the game and face the fans and the players appreciate that it wasn’t good enough.

“We’ve let the fans down twice this year – Great Yarmouth at home and Swaffham at home – and we won’t let that happen again.

“We have to keep developing and learning.

“It has been a tough season with all the injury problems we’ve had, but I think 60-plus points would be a very successful season considering everything that has happened.

“If we can do that then I believe there will be positives we can take from the season.”