Peterborough Sports survive and now they want to thrive at National League level

​The part-time city club are one of the smallest to compete at this level in the UK so securing a third season alongside a host of former Football League clubs is some achievement.

Sports made certain of avoiding the drop with a 1-0 win at King’s Lynn Town on Saturday and in doing so went past last season’s points tally of 57.

Joint manager Michael Gash, who claimed the only goal of the game deep into added time, was of course delighted, but he insists it’s something to build on rather than settle for.

Sports also embarked on a club record run to the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy.

Gash and co-boss Luke Steele are expected to sign new deals for the 2024-2025 season after the final game of the current campaign against play-off bound Chorley at PIMS Park on Saturday (3pm).

"To get more points this season makes this a bigger achievement than last season,” Gash insisted. “We won’t finish as high, but for a part-time club of our size to stay at this level for a third season is a great achievement.

"The players, club officials and the fans should be all proud. Everyone has played a part.

"But we don’t want to be needing wins at the end of a season to stay up. We want to build on what we’ve already achieved and establish ourselves in the National League.

"We want to progress so myself and Luke will be working hard in the summer to help make that happen. We haven’t signed our contracts for next season yet, but we will.

"It’s been a tough season, but a very enjoyable one. We made club history in the FA Trophy and, although that might have cost us at times in the league, it was still another great achievement.

"We lost key players at times because of injury or loan players going back to their clubs. When they are first-team regulars it became hard, but the squad coped with it all.

"Their commitment has been outstanding.

"It was a great way to ensure we stayed up at King’s Lynn. We wanted to do the job ourselves without relying on other teams and to win the way we did, at a big club in front of 1,600 fans, many of them our own, was a great feeling.

"It was nice for me to get the goal at a club that means so much to me, but the whole squad deserve so much praise.”

Sports are 15th and moved onto 58 points with the win at Lynn. They finished 14th with 57 points last season. Sports can’t now finish any higher this term.