RILEY SMITH has spoken of the challenges that face Lynchpin in Hellenic Division Two East as the club considers it future in the league.

Lynchpin were one of two clubs to step into the Hellenic League from the East Berkshire League in the summer and they have been competitive ever since.

Lynchpin won 4-1 at home to Stokenchurch in a cup fixture on Saturday, and stand sixth in the league table with games in hand over most sides above them.

But, Smith has called for more commitment from his players as the club considers a move away from Farnham Park.

“We will give it our best but we’re not entirely sure what we will do next year,” the Lynchpin boss told the Observer.

“We just need stability and a bit more commitment from some people. Work is work, and I appreciate that, plus we’ve had injuries. These are problems we got away with in previous years.

“We’re not doing too bad but the problem we had at the beginning was getting the same team out two weeks running because of the travelling involved.

“Farnham Park is not great and if you want to move up the leagues you need to improve the facilities, and that’s not easy.”

Smith continued: “It’s going all right but it has been a bit of a mixed season after three years of success in the East Berkshire Premier Division.

“When we first decided to move I canvassed the players’ opinions, but there is a challenge in more ways than one.

“Most sides we’ve come up against have been younger, fitter and play good football, especially the academy teams.

“That is one challenge and the other is that the administration is far more demanding. It takes up a lot of time.

“The Hellenic League is also a zero-tolerance league, so we’ve found ourselves on the wrong side of cautions at times and the referees are not consistent.”