Hamilton Parish have remained on the bottom of the First Division standings throughout this season, but their coach would still argue they have never been totally outclassed in their first year back in the top flight.

In fact, Ricky Hill feels that if a couple of breaks had gone their way early in the season, Parish might not now find themselves in the dreaded cellar and doomed to a quick return to the Second Division. Hill recalls the first two matches against North Village and Dandy Town in which Parish took the lead but then lost. In the third game they were beaten 1-0 by Wolves in another close encounter as only Dion Wainwright's second half penalty separated the sides.

Winning against Village and Town would have been a tremendous boost for the team and could have launched a different season to the one they are now suffering.

"I look back at the North Village game when we went up 1-0 through Sean Dill and two minutes later Sean hit the inside of the post which would have made it 2-0,'' said Hill, who is in his first season as a coach.

"In the Dandy Town game we went up 1-0 and the team actually played very well in the first half of most games but we haven't fought right to the end.'' Parish's only win in the league so far came against Rangers in the last match of the first half of the campaign. But with games against Devonshire Cougars and Rangers to come, the Hot Peppers can still have a say in deciding the other relegation spot.

"What we want to do is finish out the season as strong as we can and whoever is going to come with us, we could probably make that decision,'' said Hill, who points to the loss of his brother, Corey, in the second half of the season as a major setback for the team.

"We still have Cougars and Rangers, the teams just above us and who knows on the day what can happen.'' Certainly Parish will be playing for pride in their final three matches.

"The team have actually played well in spurts and looked good, knocking the ball about,'' added the coach. "Then we go down a goal and it's very difficult to fight back and the heads go down.

"It's just been unlucky breaks, that's the only way I can describe it. If the ball had bounced a little better for us we might not be in the position we are in now. I hope this doesn't reflect on my coaching ability.'' Red cards also hurt the team, Hill admitted. "If you look at the sendings off, as much as the players played well, in some part of their game they lacked discipline which caused them to be sent off which is no help to the team.'' The former striker intended to concentrate solely on coaching this season but was forced into action himself as goalkeeper following the ejection of Cymande Davis in one game.

Hill also played in another game while Davis, who scored the goal in the win over Rangers, played up front.

"A lot of attitudes have to be changed with more discipline and following the instructions that the coaches set out,'' said Hill.

"More discipline and respect is what I would like to see.'' As with most relegated teams, an exodus of players is now anticipated, particularly with the likes of Davis, Keenan Burchall, Jermaine Belboda and Kuma Smith having joined Parish from other First Division clubs.

But Hill would like to see the nucleus of the team stay together to help rebuild the programme.

"There is a lot of potential at the club,'' Hill said. "We have some good juniors coming through.

"What we need to do is get a structure and concentrate on the youngsters and hopefully, with the players who stay, we can have a good season. Obviously it's going to take some time.

"We do have a good under-15 squad with one or two players coming through and they'll be watched closely to try to get them into the Second Division and try to build on what we have coming. We have a few players 29 or 30, so we do need to be looking at the younger bunch.''