Head coach James Phillips admits his struggling Romsey Town side must “stand up and be counted” ahead of a tough run of games in Sydenhams One.

Phillips also admits that anyone doubting his side’s ability only motivates him and the team more to pull Town out of relegation trouble.

Town, on the face of it, have had a grim time in the Wessex second tier this term but Phillips, the young boss at the helm, has remained staunchly optimistic.

The Bypass Ground boys – who are currently at the foot of the league after 14 games with one win – will play two of the top four – leaders Tadley Calleva and Cowes Sports in fourth – in the space of a month.

On top of that, they face the improving Hythe & Dibden, seventh place Fleet Spurs this Saturday (3pm) at Kennels Lane and US Portsmouth before mid-February. But, despite their precarious position, Romsey need just two wins to haul themselves back up the table, with East Cowes Victoria and Andover New Street also not yet on double figures.

“We now have six games on the bounce against the top sides of our division starting at Fleet Spurs on Saturday,” said Phillips.

“It’s a run the players are really looking forward to.

“They feel as a group they’ve turned a corner in the last couple of weeks and we have been strengthened by the arrival of Liam Edgar.

“There is now a genuine feeling that we can get out of the position we are in and, we all know, if we are to do that we have to stand up and be counted in the next run of games.”

Phillips is playing down the importance of the upcoming games, though, as he looks to convert good performances into results.

The 22-year-old has targeted games against teams around them later in February as a vital time to pick up precious points. “I personally don’t think these games will end up determining our league status,” he said, referring to the next month’s worth of games. “The matches against the teams around us in February will be the key period but we want to prove people wrong as soon as we can.

“The doubters only motivate me and the team even more.”

It has been a turbulent time in Romsey’s recent history. After relegation from the Wessex Premier last term, Phillips embarked on a necessary squad reconstruction when he took the job ahead of this season. The young boss then transformed his side again with fresh faces as they struggled for form in the last few months.

“The squad that will face Fleet on Saturday only has four players left from the reverse fixture back in September,” he said.

“We’ve come a long way since that 3-0 defeat. We are confident we can get a positive result and gain some confidence going into our next home game against Cowes Sports (Jan 24).”