CRADLEY skipper Max Clegg insists the club’s title hopes are still alive after their stunning win over runaway leaders Birmingham.

The Heathens are now entering a run of away meetings, starting at Stoke on Saturday, as they aim to close the gap on their Perry Barr track sharers and turn up the pressure.

Clegg said: “I’m just so pleased we were able to get the win to keep our chances of the title alive, because if we’d have lost we know that would have been it.

“It’s still going to be very difficult, and we can’t really afford any slip-ups, but if we can approach every meeting like that Birmingham meeting then we should keep on winning.

“We’ve got our hardest meeting out of the way and won it, so we are definitely capable of winning our remaining meetings.

“We’ve got three away meetings coming up which won’t be easy, but I think if we are at our best we can win them all which would move us right up there with Birmingham.

“All we can do now is focus on our own meetings, and if we can keep winning over the rest of the season that’s bound to put some pressure on Birmingham.

“We have to keep believing we can go all the way. We’ve been aiming from the start of the year to defend our title, and we’ll keep on doing everything we can to achieve it.”

Heathens are without the injured Nathan Greaves on Saturday along with Matt Williamson who is on Premier League duty for Workington.

Boss Will Pottinger will draft in a guest replacement for one with rider replacement covering for the other.

Their next home meeting at Perry Barr is on Wednesday, August 26 against King’s Lynn.