CARETAKER boss Simon Williams says it’s “mission accomplished” after Gornal Athletic’s West Midlands Premier status was secured.

Heath Town Rangers’ 5-0 defeat to Wellington on Saturday, coupled with losses for Lye and Shawbury, confirmed The Garden Walk side’s safety.

Williams’ side celebrated the news with a 2-1 win at Bewdley Town on Monday and could even end the season with a trophy.

They take a 2-0 advantage into tonight’s League Cup semi-final second leg at Bustleholme.

The boss, who is poised to step down for a second time at the end of the season, admitted it was a relief that the relegation battle was over after a season of struggle which began with Dave Porter’s sacking after only three games in charge.

Williams had originally resigned at the end of last season but agreed to re-take the reigns on a temporary basis.

He said: “It’s very much mission accomplished for me.

“When I came back here the club were cut adrift at the bottom but we managed to steady the ship and fight our way back.

“I always thought we would be alright, we have a good side and on paper we should never have been down there.

“It’s been the same in almost every game and part of our problem has been down to missed chances and conceding sloppy goals.

“It’s one of those things, in the last couple of games we have had nowhere near a full strength side but managed to get two big wins.”

The only blip for Gornal came in the final of the Birmingham County Cup last Wednesday, where they went down 1-0 to Bartley Green.

Meanwhile Dudley Town still have designs on a top four finish after beating Shawbury 3-2 in a rearranged game.

The result relegated the visitors and will have been particularly pleasing for the Robins, who were forced to replay the fixture in full despite being 2-0 up when the original game was abandoned after 80 minutes in March.

Tividale defeated Lye Town 1-0 thanks to a goal from Liam Morris and could now finish as high as sixth. Both sides were celebrating at the final whistle after Heath Town and Shawbury’s defeats meant Lye were staying up.

Tivi boss Dean Whitehouse believes his youthful side have improved as the season has progressed and is now looking for experienced heads to add to his young stars.

He said: “We have come on a bundle, I have learnt a lot with the players this year.

“I wouldn’t say I’m chuffed because we can still get better and I would like to be further up the league but we are definitely going in the right direction.

“We haven’t been helped by the fixture pile up or losing a couple of players to teams higher up the league but the lads have kept going.

“All we need now is a few experienced players who will give us the chance to kick on that bit further. I don’t think we are that far off.”

The club will be holding trials over the summer. Anyone interested should contact Dean on 07500 864866.