JOHN HASELDIN insists it is ‘vital’ that Holywell Town retain their Cymru Alliance status and believes the next three games will define their season.

Now in his seventh year in charge at Halkyn Road, Haseldin has been instrumental in Holywell’s transition from Welsh National League contenders to an established second tier club.

Three successive top-five finishes since 2015 have enhanced their reputation further, but a testing 2018/19 campaign has left them 15th in the table and fighting relegation.

Haseldin accepts his side face a ‘huge’ challenge to remain in the division, but is determined to transform the club’s fortunes in their remaining seven games.

He said: “The run-in is massive for us - bigger than any challenge we’ve faced previously - and the next three are hugely important.

“As a club we’ve had some great moments like winning league titles and reaching the Welsh Cup semis a few seasons ago.

"We were getting gates of 500-plus and keeping that success going has been down to the hard work of the committee, the volunteers and the loyalty of the supporters here.

“We know what it means to everyone involved at the club and the community and it’s vital we keep ourselves in the division to move the club forward.

“Getting into the top five for three seasons running was great, so when people look at our position now they wonder what’s gone wrong. We’ve been victims of our own success in a way, because we haven’t lived up to those standards this season.

“I think we’ve become a bit of a scalp for other teams too, judging by the way some teams have celebrated when they’ve taken points off us this year.”

A run of three league games without a victory has dented Holywell’s survival bid, but Haseldin has been encouraged by recent performances and has targeted maximum points from Saturday ’s clash at Guilsfield.

He added: “This league’s ruthless and fine margins have decided a lot of our games already. But people don’t want hard-luck stories, they want results.

"The table doesn’t lie and everyone here’s aware of the situation we’re in and ready to face it head on because there’s no hiding place.

“We are confident with the group of players we now have that we can dig ourselves out of trouble.

“But we’re under no illusion about how difficult it is going to be and we need to turn performances into points now.

“I watched Guilsfield’s game against Denbigh when they lost in horrendous conditions.

“They’re an excellent team and I think it was probably just a blip for them, so we have to expect a backlash - but we’re going there to win and with a good performance I know we’re capable of that.”

Holywell will have Steve Lewis, Aaron Pomeyie and Mike Platt back from suspension.

Jon Jones, Jason Renshaw, Rob Jones and Joe Cary return after missing last week’s defeat at Rhyl.