Kingstonian boss Alan Dowson has labelled play-off rivals Sutton United the Stoke City of the Ryman League Premier Division.

Ks consolidated their position in the top five with a 4-1 win over Boreham Wood on Saturday, while United stretched their unbeaten run to eight league matches with a 0-0 draw at Maidstone United.

Boss Paul Doswell’s men have three games in hand on Kingstonian and would overhaul their second-placed rivals should they collect the extra nine points available.

Dowson has backed his men to make an impression should they make the end of season lottery, but he has singled out United as one of the teams confident of finishing the job of promotion and stepping into the Blue Square South.

“If we finish second or fifth, I don’t care who we get. I’m not interested in talking about next year, we have got to go up this year,” he said.

“There will be a lot of good teams in there. It is a bit of a lottery really.

“Sutton are strong. They play a lot like Stoke City in that they use a lot of set pieces and throw ins to get a lot of balls into the box.”

Dowson’s comments will add some spice to the occasion when the two teams clash at Kingsmeadow on April 3.