Sutton United boss Ian Hazel has described December as a month that could go a long way to determine which division his side plays in next season, writes Stuart Amos.

United visit fellow Conference South strugglers Hayes on Saturday before facing Farnborough Town (twice) Eastleigh, Hayes and Bognor Regis Town in the space of 12 days.

And Hazel, whose side battled to a 1-1 draw against third-placed Bishop's Stortford at the weekend, believes it is a run as important as any in which he has been involved.

"There is no doubt that this is a massive five games for us," he said.

"They are against teams around us so, if we get five wins, we put a lot of breathing space between ourselves and the bottom.

"If we lose them, we will be in real trouble. But we are not a million miles from being a top six or seven team in terms of the players we have got.

"I am reasonably happy with the squad - we have just got to start defending better. I have lost count of the number of times we have lost or drawn matches to late goals."

Saturday followed a familiar pattern after Tony Quinton had given his side the advantage on the stroke of half-time.

A Stortford penalty robbed Sutton of a shock win after Bashiru Alimi was judged to have handled the ball in the area.

It left Hazel fuming over two points lost when his side seemed on the brink of a much-needed victory.

"I was in line with the referee and I couldn't see it, so there is no way he could have made the decision based on what he saw," he added.

"The linesman should have made the call. It is disappointing he didn't and it cost us when we should have celebrated a win."

United have completed the signing of former Fulham striker Lee Hall, 19, from Lewes.