SWINDON College Old Boys boss Martin Peaple insisted his side are still ‘hanging in there’ despite their 16-10 home loss to Drifters.

The defeat leaves the Pipers Way side rock bottom at Christmas without a win to their name so far this season, although the losing bonus point they picked up leaves them only nine points behind second-bottom side Alchester.

Chairman Peaple is realistic enough to know his side now face an uphill battle to keep hold of their place in Southern Counties North but he is refusing to give up hope just yet.

“The losing bonus point was a plus for us because anything less would have left us the wrong side of somewhere we really don’t want to be,” he said.

“It keeps us hanging in there and even now a couple of wins could turn things around but we have to be realistic about it all. Trying to pinpoint where the wins are going to come from is very hard at the moment.

“We played well on Saturday and it could have gone our way pretty easily after we scored first through Gareth Davies but they just came back and scored straight away.

“The bonus point was something we needed and we got it, that’s a positive, and we’re still in there with a shout.

“It’s not destined to be two up and two down at the end of season either so there’s still that possibility. Maybe it would be wise to regroup, go down and come back up again.”

Old Boys’ season has been ravaged by injuries which has robbed them of the likes of Matt McKee, Charlie Grable, Stuart Knight and Greig O’Brien, which Peaple believes has played a massive part in his side’s struggles.

“They people who are out are our game changers really, the people who can produce something and make breaks or create gaps for other players to score,” he said.

“Our defence was good but we lacked the cutting edge in attack to finish the game off so there’s no disgrace because they are in the top half of the table.

“We’ve always been there or there abouts in games, apart from a couple where we’ve struggled away, and this was the same.”