Eastbourne Borough chairman Len Smith has urged fans to turn out in force for tomorrow's Sussex derby with Bognor to prove the club has the support to survive at a higher level.

Victory over the Rocks would see Borough can close the gap on leaders Lewes to just one point with a game in hand as they chase the one automatic promotion spot to the Blue Square premier.

Smith insists everything is in place for the club to make the step up to non-league's top flight next season but fears a lack of support could stifle their ambitions.

Borough's average gate of 884 is the second best in Blue Square south this season but that figure is significantly distorted by the bumper 3,027 crowd which turned out for the New Year's Day clash with Lewes. Discard the attendance for that game and the average tumbles to 689.

Smith said: "It is a very exciting time for the club. We are in a great position and if we can keep our heads then we stand a good chance of going up.

"Promotion was not our goal at the start of the season but we are ready for it if it happens. It is a big step up but we have made some big jumps in the past and have coped well so I see no problem on that front.

"We are strong behind the scenes and the majority of the team are good enough to play at a higher level but our only concern is the gates.

"You would think that being in with a chance of winning the league that our gates would go up but there doesn't seem to be any increase. If people can't turn out when we are going so well in the league it makes you wonder because a team in the top two should be getting 900 a game at least.

"Generally we tend to get pretty good gates but then only 500 will turn up for a big match and that leaves you scratching your head. We have spent many an hour talking about why we don't attract big crowds on a regular basis and we still don't know the reason.

"A town like Eastbourne is big enough to support a Conference premier side but it doesn't seem to matter whether we are winning or losing and that worries you because if we go up we need gates of at least 1,000 a week to survive."

Borough are still without injured trio Ben Austin, Matt Smart and Allan Tait for the game but Nathan Crabb could return after only being used as a substitute in Saturday's 4-0 win at Dorchester due to a bad back. Bognor have a full squad to choose from.

Borough assistant manager Nick Greenwood said: "We have scored ten goals in our last two home games so we're hoping for a big crowd. If you can't capture peoples' imaginations when you are playing entertaining football and are near the top of the table you never will."

Will you be supporting Borough tomorrow?