Guernsey FC 'not good enough' as relegation looms

Guernsey FC have won just nine of their 40 games this season

Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance says his side "haven't been good enough" as they prepare for a first relegation in the club's history.

The Green Lions lost 3-0 to Kingstonian on Monday and are five points from safety with two games to play.

They will face Binfield on Thursday, in their re-arranged game from Good Friday, before a trip to Harrow Borough on Saturday.

They must win their final two games - having won just three away games all season - and hope Metropolitan Police lose on the final day.

Should their rivals draw their last game, Guernsey would have to win their two matches by an unlikely total of 16 goals to overturn their goal difference.

"If we go down, we go down," Vance told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"We go down because we're not good enough, we haven't been good enough, we've left ourselves too much to do.

"It's a tough league, a really tough league.

"We've been fighting relegation for five or six years but we've always done enough; this year we left ourselves too much to do."

Tony Vance has never suffered a relegation as Guernsey FC manager

Guernsey FC were formed in 2011 and won back-to-back promotions out of the Combined Counties League in their first two seasons.

They have since played in the eighth tier in the Isthmian League South Central Division, with their best finish coming in 2014 when they were fourth and reached the play-offs.

But for the past few years they have always been in the relegation mix and look set to finally go down this term.

Vance says his side have given away too many points late in matches this season.

"I think those points that were taken away from us when we were in winning positions or drawing positions late in games is what's going to hurt us.

"It's 18 points' worth, and even if you get two, we're safe, so that's what's been the problem."

But he hopes that the club's move to Victoria Park - a dedicated football stadium, rather than Footes Lane which the club shared with athletics and rugby union - can help boost their bid for promotion next season.

The Green Lions have performed well in three matches at their new home in the past month.

"Maybe if we'd have moved here earlier we wouldn't be in this situation," Vance added after a positive performance despite their loss to play-off bound Kingstonian.

"What that's shown me is that we can do this if we go down, use this facility to play like that, then we'll win football matches.

"That's something we haven't done for six or seven years, so it's a negative and two steps backwards in a certain way, but we can maybe make some positive steps forward by going down."