RADCLIFFE Borough have been handed a major boost in their monumental task of avoiding relegation with the news that five of their key men have pledged their futures to the club.

The Radcliffe Times revealed last week that Matty O'Neill had signed on the dotted line, and he has been followed by skipper Simon Kelly, Tim Dittmer, Scott Wilson and Ian Fitzpatrick.

The signatures represent a big coup for Boro as they teeter on the brink of the dreaded drop. However, manager Andy Johnston is delighted that the spine of his team is ready to remedy the ills of this season.

"We did the pushing and shoving and the lads have responded by committing their futures," said Johnston. "We wanted to know now what their plans are, and we are delighted that they all want to stay with us. They either believed in what we are doing, or they didn't and the fact that they believed in us is great.

"It is looking like it is going to be hard for us to stay up, but the lads want to stay with us and make amends if we were to go down.

"All five are key players and we have had offers for three of them in the last month. We could quite easily have waited until we know what league we are going to be playing in but wanted to be positive and pro-active.

"These signings have really lifted everyone and we are buoyant at the moment ahead of a difficult few weeks."

Boro welcome Ossett to Stainton Park tomorrow, before visiting fellow strugglers Mossley on Tuesday night. Scott Wilson is suspended for the Ossett game and Gianluca Havern has been recalled by Stockport County, but Boro manager Johnston is hoping to have a new face to choose from.

"We are trying to get Ian Fitzpatrick's brother Lee to come and help us out," explained Johnston. "Lee is a very good midfield player who is a former professional. He fell out of love with the game for a time, but we are hoping he will come in and do a job for us.

"We know that a couple of wins in these two games will make our situation look a lot better. We have not given in and everyone is upbeat after a couple of weeks off."