Sittingbourne will be mathematically safe with five games to spare if they beat bottom side Greenwich Borough this weekend.

The fixture was highlighted as a crunch game by the Brickies committee when Chris Lynch took charge in January.

But Lynch promised them it wouldn’t be and he’s delivered, with Bourne travelling to south London 11 points clear of Boro and all but safe in Bostik South East.

Lynch said: “When I walked in the door the fixture the club were focused on was this one.

“The board were saying we must beat Greenwich, it’ll come down to the wire and I turned round and said no, it’s not going to happen, we are going to get out of it well before then.

“So the expectations were just please survive, even if it’s scraping through.

“I kind of walked in and said if that is your top goal we’re miles apart here. My goal is to get us mid-table and I think it’s very realistic.

“I think it takes a lot of guts for any manager to come out and say we will be completely fine and we’ll be safe by this target, because no one knows the future.

“But a lot of people have said there was no way they were expecting us to go on the run we have and it just so happens that everything I’ve said we’d do, we’ve pretty much done well before schedule.

“Again, that coincides with having faith in the team, faith in the players and giving them a clear style and direction.

“It was no secret there was a massive job to be done here and it’s not finished yet - nowhere near it.”

With Brickies virtually safe, Lynch will continue to give youth a chance.

Under-18 defender Frankie Phipps has been on the bench for the past couple of weeks and could get his chance before the end of the season.

Lynch, whose side have lost their last two games, said: “Because of our good run I’ve decided to give opportunities to players who are much younger to give them experience for next year.

“For me that’s vitally important, especially if we want to test these individuals.

“If it means we lose a couple more games, so be it, we’re not in any danger now.”