Gary King says St Neots Town have an important run of games coming up and this “block” will give them a chance to pull further away from the relegation zone.

The Saints are unbeaten at home in the Premier Division of the Southern League in their last five games at The Cozy Stadium. The two most recent games have both been 1-1 draws against tough opponents: Stourbridge and Poole Town – and against St Albans City today, King sees a chance to put further distance between the team and the dreaded drop zone.

“There are games coming up against six or seven of the teams around us,” the joint manager told The Hunts Post. “We have had a run of tough games and now we have a chance to move further away from the relegation zone.

“We do set targets in blocks of games but realistically our main target this season is not to get relegated. Once we have reached that goal, we can start thinking about next season.”

Since taking over from Iain Parr, King and Zema Abbey’s side have won three, drawn three and lost six. St Neots were firmly ensconced in the drop zone when the pair took over – now they are seven points clear of danger.

Lewis Hilliard scored St Neots’s 27th-minute opener against Poole Town and the Saints almost saw the game out for a win before the visitors equalised in the 90th minute.

“We were very good and solid,” said King. “We almost won all three points against a strong team.”

Adrian Sear has re-joined his former club Burnham, who also play in the Southern Premier, on a months’ loan. Sear has been injured recently and the club see this as an opportunity to get the midfielder back to full fitness.

“The loan is a little longer than we wanted but unfortunately any contracted player has to go out on loan for a minimum of one month,” said a statement on the club’s website. “Part of the Agreement is that Searsy does not play for Burnham against us in our forthcoming fixture.”

Meanwhile, youth team player Jordan Brown is spending the week with Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion.

The 16-year-old travelled to the south coast with head of youth development Parr on Monday and the former manager said: “We have already helped Dion Sembie-Ferris achieve a scholarship with Colchester United and Jordan has had trial periods with Norwich City. Colchester and Cambridge United are also monitoring his progress with interest.”

A 3-0 win over Division One Central side Dunstable Town last week saw St Neots move into the fourth round of their league’s Red Insure Cup. Hilliard, Ben Ford and Jay Davies scored the goals.