VT FC are confident their Portsmouth Road ground will pass with flying colours when the ground graders come calling on Wednesday.

Although the Boatmen still face an almighty struggle to overhaul runaway league leaders Poole Town at the top of the Sydenhams Premier, manager Dave Diaper is confident that, off the pitch, they have done all their power to get their facilities up to Southern League standard.

“We’ve done all the things that were put on the list last year. Everything is designed to get the team up to the next level,” he said.

“All we can do is keep praying. It’s in the hands of other people now and Poole Town. “I keep an eye on Poole’s website and I’ve noticed that they’ve been advertising for supporters to erect fences before a game and then take them down afterwards.

“They’ve had an excellent season and if they can get the ground grounding, then good luck to them.

“They’ve obviously had some guidance from the FA on getting up to the next level and only time will tell if they make the inspection deadline.”

Diaper, though, will be keeping a wary eye on club finances should the opportunity of promotion come VT’s way.

“We’ve reached a level where we need to push on, but the credit crunch does come into it,” he said. “If we were given the green light to go up, we would need to have a meeting to look at the monetary side of things.

“I won’t let this club get into areas where it can’t pay for itself.

“The way things are going financially, there could more teams dying to get out of the league above than get into it. This is a difficult time for all football clubs and the credit crunch is sending shockwaves right through the pyramid.

“Finance is the make or break of a club and you’ve got to be realistic and work within a budget. It would be foolhardy to think differently.

“It’s all about sustainability at the end of the day and, at VT, I don’t look much further than one season at a time.”

Already with a Hampshire FA Senior Cup final to look forward to at St Mary’s on April 30, VT are just two games away from repeating that feat in the Sydenhams Wessex League Cup.

They host Moneyfields in the semi-final first leg tonight, then again in the league on Saturday. They then complete an eight-day treble against the Money men in the second leg at Copnor next Tuesday.

“Our biggest problem is that now we’ve got the Hampshire Senior Cup game in the bag, it’s easy to think too much about it,” he said. “It’s important we refocus on what we want to achieve and, until results go against us, we’re still on for a treble.

“While we’re playing in the Cup tonight, Poole have a league game at Christchurch which won’t be easy for them.

“Playing Moneyfields three times in a row doesn’t do us any favours especially as they’re better away than they are at home. But there are cup final places up for grabs now and the lads know they will be up for selection if they come in and do well.”

VT welcome centre-back Lee Bright back from suspension tonight and Sam Wyeth is over his hamstring troubles, but Tyronne Bowers (ankle), Kev Brewster (dead leg/ankle), Marc Diaper (back) and Jamie Austen (gashed shin) are all doubtful.

For more non-league, including Chris Tardif's surprise move to Winchester City, don't miss today's Daily Echo.