Boss John Suter admits Horsham YMCA cannot afford to lose on Saturday if they are to maintain a realistic chance of avoiding relegation from Ryman division one south.
Defeat to fellow strugglers Corinthian Casuals at Gorings Mead would leave YMCA ten points adrift of safety with only eight games remaining.
Suter has signed midfielder Scott Marshall from Burgess Hill for the vital match but is without Matt Duffield, Matt Simpson and Ben Fillery.
He said: "They can afford to lose but we can't. Mathematically it would not be the end of the world if we didn't win but it would be a big blow if we failed to beat the team just above us at home.
"Ten points is a big gap at this stage of the season and it would mean we would have to win four more games than them in the final eight matches which would be tough.
"But our last two performances have been much better so we go into the match in good spirits knowing that victory would give us a realistic chance of staying up."
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