Banbury Bulls have three weeks to save their season, says head coach Grant Holmes.

Bulls are 18 points adrift of safety in Midlands 1 West after Saturday’s 55-14 defeat to Dudley Kingswinford, but face the sides around them in the coming weeks.

Banbury, who are 13th, visit basement boys Leamington on Saturday, then host Nuneaton Old Edwardians (12th) before travelling to Stratford Upon Avon (11th).

The odds may be stacked against them, but Holmes is not giving up just yet.

He said: “We have got three weeks to turn ourselves around and give ourselves a chance.

“If we don’t do that, we will have to go down and start again.

“Realistically, we need to win all three game and get bonus points to get ourselves into a position where we can look at overtaking teams.

“We targeted them before Christmas.

“There has to be at least ten points, but even then that may not be enough.

“If we don’t get three wins in the next three weeks, then I think relegation is a foregone conclusion.

“But I think we are a team capable of winning those three games.”

Banbury have won only one of 15 matches so far, but Holmes feels they have been improving.

“We have now played two of the top three sides in the last four games in Bournville and Dudley,” he said.

“We showed that we can compete for periods, so we need to keep the boys confident for the future.”

He added: “It comes down to fitness, really. Most of the teams in the top half of the table are fitter than us.”

However, if Holmes’s positive attitude could be translated into points, Banbury would have a real chance of survival.

“I think we will come away with a morale-boosting win next week,” he said.

“We matched Nuneaton for 60 minutes at their place.

“They will come to us and get a run for their money.”