DAVE Turner is certain that the destination of the Hellenic League Division One West crown will not be decided when Bassett take on title rivals Brimscombe & Thrupp next month.

Second-placed Bassett maintained the pressure on their Gloucestershire counterparts with a fine victory at Old Woodstock Town last weekend but the Rylands Way boss thinks that there are still plenty of potential twists and turns to come in the final third of the season.

Turner’s men currently sit four points behind Brimscombe but with two games in hand.

“I try to keep an eye on what lots of sides in our league are doing, not just those above us, because what happens at the end of the season will be down to teams below us – it won’t just be what happens when we play Brimscombe,” said Turner.

“If you look at last Saturday, nobody expected them not to beat fifth-from-bottom Lambourn but they rode their luck and got a draw.

“Other teams will decide who gets promoted as champions but we’re just happy to be in the position we want to be in for the run-in.”

Shaun Terry starred as he netted a hat-trick with Matt Bown and Ritchie Saunders also on target.

But Turner admitted that the shine was taken off the victory after Craig Bowden was controversially sent off for an alleged stamp late on.

He said: “I was really unhappy about that because I felt that he was the one who was fouled – it looked like the other guy fell on him and he had a 12-inch stud mark on his leg to prove it.

“We calmly asked the referee for an explanation after the game but he just waffled and didn’t really explain it.

“It’s frustrating because now I lose one of my best defenders for three games, including the one against Brimscombe, which is the kind of one that players want to be involved in.”

Bassett renew hostilities with Old Woodstock almost instantly this time at Rylands Way this weekend. Midfielder Saunders is suspended.