Smith warns sloppy Terrors

7:52am Thursday 27th March 2008

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Manager Billy Smith has warned his side that there is still work to be done if Tooting & Mitcham are to book their place in the Ryman Division One South play-offs.

The Terrors endured a miserable Easter period, which saw Friday's home game with Chatham Town fall foul of the weather, followed by a 3-1 defeat at Croydon Athletic on Monday.

And Smith admitted that things quickly need to get back on track.

He said: "In a perfect world, we would finish second.

"But you have to earn that right and you cannot just take it for granted.

"We do have games in hand but that is irrelevant unless you get something out of those games.

"Until we get those points we are not safe."

Paul Vines gave the Terrors an early lead at Croydon, but the home team's comeback allowed Cray Wanderers to move up to second place in the league.

And Smith revealed he had little complaint with the result.

He said: "Croydon played very well. We did have some chances, but I thought they won on merit.

"These hiccups will always happen during the season and it's all about how we respond."

The Terrors face a crunch clash on Saturday, when fourth-placed Met Police are the visitors.

And Smith sees it as the perfect opportunity to signal his side's intentions.

He added: "We have 72 points, which may seem a lot, but there are still a lot of points to play for.

"Teams like Met Police and Kingstonian are really beginning to push hard.

"Saturday will be a really big game for us as teams are breathing down our neck and we need to get points on the board."