OSWALDTWISTLE Immanuel captain Gerard Metcalf is confident the club is on the up.

But he has warned there is still some way to go before they have turned the corner away from what has been a disappointing couple of years for the New Lane side.

The club recruited eight new players over the winter including the return of his eldest son Andrew from Church.

And although he is looking forward to a run in the Ramsbottom Cup after reaching the quarter-finals with victory over Earby, he has conceded any fight for the title and admitted he would gladly settle for a mid-table finish.

Metcalf said: "We're not going to be challenging for the league, we're too far behind, but we want to finish as high up as possible.

"This is a transitional season for us because we've got so many new players. It'll take a bit of time for them to settle and adjust, and we can experiment with a few different things.

"We've always had a good depth to our squad, but we haven't had the players who could go out and get us 700 or 800 runs a season. But now we've got batsmen right down the order who can go out and get us runs.

"We've got one or two youngsters coming through as well.

"If we can keep all the squad together then we will be a strong team next year."

Immanuel picked up their second win of the season on Saturday with victory over Barnoldswick, having previously recorded a shock victory against Great Harwood.

That was thanks in no small part to the work of professional Ahmer Saeed, who has scored four half-centuries in seven innings and chipped in with his first five-wicket haul of the season on Saturday.

Metcalf added: "This is the third year we've had him. He's a good honest pro who works hard and is consistent with the bat. We know what we're getting with him, he's good value for money."

And the Immanuel supporters will be hoping Saeed and the rest of the side can help them celebrate bringing silverware back to the club this season - a feat that Metcalf is refusing to rule out.

He added: "That's our realistic target. If we win another three games we've won it, it's as simple as that.

"We've got Cherry Tree in the next round and they're just above us in the league so it should be a good equal contest.

"If we get through that we're in the semi-final with just two games to play."