Eastleigh should find out this Friday if improvements to their Ten Acres ground have got the green light from the Dr Martens League.

But the newly-crowned Jewson Wessex League champions will not know officially if they have been promoted until May 8 when the DML board meets to form the leagues for next season.

With just four to be promoted from the feeder leagues, the biggest fear in the Eastleigh camp was that they would be one of six champion clubs fighting to go up.

But Hellenic League leaders North Leigh are believed to have withdrawn their application along with United Counties top dogs Newport Pagnell Town.

That leaves Eastleigh, Team Bath (Western League) and Burgess Hill Town (Sussex League) firmly in the frame along with Go Travel Kent leaders Maidstone United.

Maidstone's case, however, could be weakened by the fact that they groundshare at Sittingbourne FC.

The other league still in contention is the Midland Alliance but their top club is currently Stourbridge, who have not applied to go up.

Eastleigh are confident that their Ten Acres makeover will meet with Southern League approval. Work carried out at their spruced up Stoneham Lane headquarters includes a new-look all-seater stand - including a press box, an outside ladies' toilet, fencing right round the ground and a new turnstile.

"We've carried out all the work they asked us to," confirmed Eastleigh chairman Roger Sherwood.

Salisbury City's promotion hopes have been dealt the sledge-hammer blow of a three-point deduction.

An FA hearing in Birmingham yesterday dismissed the Whites appeal against the punishment meted out for playing an ineligibile player, Nathan Perkins, in their 4-1 win at Spalding in February.

Whites' fine of £100 also stands, but it's the docking of the three points that could fatally wound their chances in one of the tightest ever Dr Martens Eastern Division promotion battles.

With just six games left to play, it drops Nick Holmes's side down a place to fourth - seven points behind leaders Eastbourne and five adrift of second-placed Dorchester Town, who have played one game more.

Stamford, who have also played a game more than the Whites, leap two points ahead of them into third.

Salisbury director Dave Harrold attended the hearing and said the club was "bitterly disappointed" with the decision.

Unbeknown to the Whites, Perkins, who was signed from Western League outfit Devizes Town, was still registered with fellow DML club Cirencester. To compound the problem, Salisbury mistakenly sent his registration to the FA instead of the league.

Harrold said: "We could not have argued against the fact that the player was ineligible, but we were appealing against the severity of the punishment. We wanted the option of replaying the match or perhaps having the points reinstated.

"We've got to live with it, but it's sad we've lost the points through something administration-related rather than football-related."

Whites, though, will fight on. Harrold pointed out: "We've known for a long time that we could lose the points, but we've kept going and we're still not out of the promotion race.

"There are six games to go and I don't suppose anyone's going to win every game. There will be a few banana skins along the way."