East Grinstead have claimed their first silverware of the new year but they know bigger prizes lie ahead.

The county's premier club lifted the National Indoor League title after another fabulous weekend at Kidderminster.

Their next target is to win the championship on finals day at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Sunday - just as they did 12 months ago.

Victory this weekend, when the top four teams in the league are matched up in front of live television cameras, will guarantee Grinstead European hockey for 2008.

They are already representing England in the European Indoor Championships in Brussels next month and manager Matt Jones insists they can tackle the challenges ahead with supreme confidence.

Despite missing Ashley Jackson, the star of last year's success, Grinstead topped the nine-team league run over two weekends with 22 points out of a possible 24.

The league title was secured with a 9-2 victory over their biggest rivals, Loughborough Students, a team they had never beaten indoors previously.

Grinstead played with flair and confidence to claim four wins out of four last weekend and Jones believes they are a better team than last year.

He said: "The squad hasn't changed significantly from last year but it has matured and they have gelled even more.

"We are definitely playing faster hockey than ever before. We are creating and putting away far more open play chances than we have done before.

"There was a slight worry going into the league this year that we would rely too much on short corners. We have proved we don't need to rely on them but, significantly, our short corner routines have improved as well.

"It is a fantastic achievement for the squad and everyone involved."

Grinstead began the weekend trailing Loughborough, who are regarded as the kings of indoor hockey, on goal difference after taking ten points from a possible 12 from the first stage of qualifying for finals day.

But the team made a tremendous start as they beat Beeston 10-5 with goals from David De Prez (four), Scott Ashdown (three), Dom Male, Mahmood Bhatti and Mark Justice and they followed that up with a 9-6 victory over Bournville when Ashdown (four), De Prez (two), Justice (two) and Male were on target.

Those two wins qualified Grinstead for finals day but they still wanted the league title - something they missed out on last year - as well as gaining the best seeding for Birmingham.

Ashdown (two), De Prez (two), Holland and Male scored as they defeated Guildford 6-4 in Sunday's opening fixture. With Loughborough also overcoming Guildford it meant a winner-takes-all showdown for the league title between the two big guns.

As it turned out, it was hardly a contest as Grinstead hammered their rivals 9-2 with Ashdown (three), Ben Barnes (three), De Prez (two) and Holland sharing the goals.

While the league title is an honour Grinstead are proud of, success at Birmingham in front of a huge crowd would represent something even more special.

As winners, Grinstead take on fourth placed Reading in a repeat of last year's semi-final, with the victors facing either Loughborough or Canterbury in the final.

Jones said: "We are seeded in top spot and that is very pleasing. We have sent out an incredibly good signal to everybody else that we are coming good again at just the right time in our attempt to defend our crown.

"Although it is nice to win the league title, our key objective is to retain the championship as that would secure us European hockey for 2008.

"That is still a way off.

"We know we will have two tough games this weekend but we are confident in our ability and I think we have every chance of being able to retain it."