When PHC Zebras hoisted the Friendship Trophy in 2001-02, coach Mark Wade predicted an even brighter future for the men in pinstripes.

However, Zebras' fortunes would quickly take a turn for the worse as they were relegated to the First Division just a year later.

But now the Strike Force are again back among the Island's elite, having seemingly rediscovered some of the tenacity that once made the Warwick-based club one of the most feared in the land.

After getting off to a slow start, the Zebras have strung together four successive league and cup wins.

They'll be inactive this weekend as their their Premier Division clash against Somerset Eagles has been called off due to the side having eight players currently overseas either with the national squad in St.Vincent or with Berkeley Institute's team in the US.

And that break suits Wade just fine.

"We have other players who are out as well and not just the players who are involved with the national squad," explained Wade yesterday.

"Two players (Robert Richardson and Jessie Almeida) are away with Berkeley Institute and there's one or two players who took knocks in the last match. We also presently have only one goalkeeper available."

As survival in the top flight remains PHC's primary objective this campaign, Wade said it would be too risky to play with a grossly depleted roster.

"And we are not prepared to lay the league on the line," he added. "Our goal remains to survive in the Premier Division and that's still the primary objective which was set at the beginning of the season.

"That was the primary goal from the outset and to also establish ourselves as a Premier Division team. So we decided to give some of our players an opportunity to play in the Friendship match (last Sunday) and we were quite pleased with most of their performances. But we also decided to take the conservative approach with this weekend's league match."

Despite missing several key players, Zebras denied Eagles a chance of appearing in a third successive Friendship Trophy final after handing the West Enders a lopsided 4-1 defeat at Southampton Oval.

"It wasn't as easy as the final scoreline suggests," Wade pointed out. "Eagles were very competitive for most of the match actually."

With four wins now under their belt, Wade attributes recent results to "commitment" and "team work."

"This is not something that happened overnight or something that can be put down to one individual," he said. "Everyone is committed to our programme and it's all about being patient and adhering to what we have worked on in training in the hope it comes out on the pitch.

"What you are now seeing is really player commitment to preparations and they are beginning to reap the awards."

However, Wade did concede inexperience might have got the better of his team at the start of the season.

Zebras lost their first two league outings to Dandy Town and Devonshire Cougars by the odd goal before finally celebrating a first win back in the top flight against North Village at the Oval ? PHC's temporary home ground.

"I think the team were a bit unfortunate and made a few mistakes which I attribute to inexperience in the first two matches," said Wade. "Now I think we have managed to learn from that and move on. But by no means have we arrived yet. And there's certainly no room for any sort of talk like that at the moment because you've only arrived when you actually achieve something."

Asked how the current lay-off might affect his team's form, Wade replied: "It's possible it could . . . but everyone else is sitting idle as well. So we will all be on level footing when play resumes."

Somerset Trojans, Boulevard, Dandy Town and Devonshire Cougars are also without matches this weekend.

The contest at Southampton Oval featuring Southampton Rangers and North Village will be the only Premier Division match of the weekend.