Rugby Town will compete once more at the third level of the non-league pyramid next season, despite rounding off their current one with back-to-back defeats at Swindon and Bashley.

	The final day defeat to Bashley ultimately did not cost Rugby a place in the league

By Jon Venner

Banbury's heavy 5-0 defeat at league winners Corby ensured Valley escaped the Southern League Premier drop zone, with Clevedon's 1-0 home defeat to Oxford leaving Town a further place to the good in the table in 17th.

Manager Tony Dobson was obviously a relieved man, after the 3-1 defeat at Bashley did not prove to be a fatal blow.

He said : "We just didn't start on Saturday, and could have easily been two or three down early on. We battled well with ten men though and I thought we were the better side in the second half.

"The game probably summed up our season - in not taking our chances at the right time. We have missed far too many chances and then been punished at the other end. We have got to change that for next season.

"We haven't picked up a single point against the teams that ultimately finished in the top five, and that's because we just haven't been clinical enough against them.

"Having said that, David Kolodynski has done well in finishing up as the division's top scorer. Hopefully he will get better and better next year, and he isn't just a one season wonder."

Dobson took over the reigns in September, with Town rock bottom of the table after seven games. With his first two matches then ending in narrow defeats - many had written off the club as bankers for relegation.

Dobson continued : "When I came in we had just two points on the board, and the Chairman said to me if we could survive from there, it would be like winning the league.

"Having pulled away from the bottom like we did, it was disappointing then not to kick-on and close that gap on the mid-table teams.

"We lost our way after the break for the bad weather, and I think the defeat at Banbury particularly knocked our confidence.

“The high point for me was the win at Halesowen, when we put in a fantastic performance. The fightback at home to Hitchin was also pretty special.”

Looking forward to next season, Dobson said : "We will be looking to strengthen in certain areas, and need maybe 3 or 4 new players."

In addition to Kolodynski's goalscoring, Dobson also picked out key contributions from a number of others in his squad.

He said : "Stephan Morley has been an impressive and consistent performer for us. Andrew Stevens has pulled out some cracking saves and kept us in matches at times, and I think Delroy Gordon has really stepped up to the mark since we gave him the captaincy."

Town have now ultimately struggled in each of their five seasons back in the BGBLP, and this season's finish equalled their lowest to-date. However, in their other 17th place finish (in 2006-07) they did at least register 49 points - compared to just 43 this time round.

They have also recorded 15th and 16th (twice) places in their other years in this division, although on a positive note, Kolodynski's exploits in 2008-09 did help Valley break the 60 league goal barrier for the first time since they won the Southern League Midland Division back in 1993-94.