North Village can still three-peat as Premier Division champions ? but only if they do not suffer any more losses.

This candid pronouncement by coach Scott Morton as football clubs prepare to resume league action this weekend plainly spelt out his team's predicament.

Having surrendered four of their seven first-half matches, the Rams languish in fourth out of eight sides and will require all of the maximum 21 points available to have any chance of lifting the trophy again.

"I definitely think we still have a chance but things are not fine the way they have been going. Football is an unpredictable sport and anything is possible as long as we stay focused in our remaining matches and have the mindset that we must win every match.

"The players have now realised we can't have anymore of this lackadaisical attitude on the pitch and thinking they don't really have to put in the work they did for the last two seasons to get to where we need to be," said a no-nonsense Morton.

"We must remember that being the champions we must train and work hard all the time because teams will be coming out to get us.

"I don't think our players realised that until it was too late ? like when we were a goal or two down, those types of situations."

The Village boss expects to be back to full strength with the return of several key players such as brothers Keith and Kevin Jennings.

"Everyone is back healthy now. Players were out for one reason or another but now those things have sorted themselves out so I should have a full squad to choose from."

Additionally, he is hoping those Village players who represented Bermuda against Barbados recently will have matured from that experience and that it will benefit the club's campaign.

Over at St. John's Road, Dandy Town are pressing their claim for the title. They have made all the running in their first seven matches with an unbeaten record of five wins and two draws and will be aiming to increase the table-topping 17 points they have collected thus far.

Coach Devarr Boyles ? perhaps still smarting from a first-round exit in the Friendship Trophy to Somerset Eagles ? is urging his players not to get ahead of themselves just yet.

He wants them to concentrate on immediate targets rather than being distracted by the finish line since there's still a long way to go.

"The objective is to break down the match at hand and win it. So when we look at the opponent we look at strengths and weaknesses. That's Tuesday's session. Then Thursday's session is totally on what we're going to do.

"Our preparation I think has been very good, particularly in the first few games," said Boyles of their success formula.

Pointing to a number of upset results in the first-half of the season ? with "so-called big teams being beaten by small teams" ? he observed "there's good parity in the league" and therefore no club can afford to be complacent.

"That's sport in essence. If the effort is matched and the quality isn't there in the big team then it's just the way the luck goes on that particular day."

Boyles said the physical output as far as players throughout teams was concerned was "relatively even" and therefore it's other things that make the difference.

"So then it's more the tactical and the technical side ? as far as players' techniques and what coaches are trying to get the players to do ? that makes the difference.

"I think all teams have quality players, but not always in the positions that hurt in relation to winning and losing games."

Meanwhile, Southampton Rangers and Hamilton Parish are teams with slightly different ambitions than their more highly-touted opponents.

They are fifth (nine points) and sixth (seven points) respectively in the standings and just to remain in the top flight, after promotion last season, would be a significant achievement.

"I think we have a good chance of finishing in the top three. That's our goal and looking at the second half of the season ? remember this is our first year up ? we hope that being consistent will keep us in the Premier Division and strengthen us for the next year.

"We don't have any tricks up our sleeves or we're not thinking about trophies just yet. We're just trying to keep everybody on the same page for our upcoming games," said Parish's player/coach Khari Sharreiff.

Realistically, he would like another four victories in the second half. That would be perfect, he said.

He has already seen improvements in the Hot Peppers' performance in areas such as taking more shots on goal and working as a unit. Still, other facets of their game need attention such as shot accuracy and sticking to their game plans.

"Sometimes, because we're new and the pressure is on, we don't stick to our game plan to the end," he explained, optimistically adding that he has a good feeling about the remainder of the season.

In Rangers' case, goalkeeper Dwayne (Streaker) Adams, believes they have quality players to handle the tough task ahead.

The West End squad, he noted, have got stronger in every game and want to pick up where they left off in 2003 with a stunning 3-1 victory against Adams' former outfit, Village.

"The team has a lot of confidence and I think we can do well. We need to go into all (seven games) to win rather than saying maybe we need to win X number of games out of seven.

"I'd like to see us in the top or middle of the table ? not in the relegation zone ? and if we can restart how we finished last year, I think we can attain that goal."