CAPTAIN Greg Tindle says doubt never crept into the minds of the Chippenham Town squad over their National League South safety after their status was secured for another season at the weekend.

A 2-0 victory for the Bluebirds at home to Truro City on Saturday moved Mark Collier’s side 15 points clear of Poole Town in the final relegation spot, a deficit the Dorset side cannot overhaul before the campaign is out.

Chippenham are enjoying a superb end to their debut season in National League South, having been promoted as Southern League Premier Division champions in 2016-17, with that win over Truro their sixth from the last eight games.

Things were not so straightforward midway through the campaign, though, as the Bluebirds went more than two months without a league win following a series of defeats, draws and postponements.

Despite picking up just two league points in eight games between mid-December and mid-February, defender Tindle says the Town squad always backed themselves in the battle to beat the drop.

“We were always confident we would be okay. About a month or so ago, it looked a bit touch and go, but as a squad, we always believed in ourselves,” said Tindle.

“People might have thought there were a few doubts in the air but even in that tough run, we were putting in decent performances.

“Confidence is a big thing and if you aren’t winning games, then it does take a hit, but even when we weren’t winning, the performances gave us belief that we would have enough.”

Recent results have seen Chippenham climb to 14th in the table and they are actually now closer to the play-off places than the relegation zone.

Tindle is keen to keep up that good form over the final two games of the campaign – starting away at Wealdstone on Saturday.

“It just shows how quickly it can turn around. We’ve been on a great run of late,” said Tindle.

“After last season, people might have looked for us to challenge again, but we knew how tough this league would be and I can’t stress how big an achievement it is to stay up.

“The fact we have done so is a testament to the manager, the chairman and everyone at the club.

“When you look at the budgets in this league, we’re probably going to finish above a few teams who have a much bigger one that ours, so that really shows what a massive achievement it is.”

After their unprecedented success last season, Tindle admits it was always going to take the Bluebirds time to adapt to their new level.

Having achieved the goal of survival, the Bluebirds skipper says the whole club should be proud of their efforts.

“There are no easy games in this league,” said Tindle.

“In the Southern League, there were probably a handful of games where you knew you just had to turn up to win.

“But here, right from Bognor Regis and Whitehawk at the bottom to Dartford at the top, every game is so tough.

“It’s a difficult league, but we’ve done very well.”