NEIL Shillingford thinks Dudley Kingswinford's determination to secure a fourth-placed finish will stand them in good stead for a promotion charge next term.

The director of rugby at Heathbrook set his players the challenge of ending the season as high as possible in Midlands One West after their promotion chances had drifted away at the start of the year.

DK regained that fourth-placed position thanks to last Saturday's impressive 41-25 home win against Stoke-on-Trent.

They will now go to sixth-placed Stratford-upon-Avon this weekend for their penultimate fixture and Shillingford thinks his players are benefitting from having a goal as the campaign draws to a close.

He said: "We did really well against Stoke but again the players came off the pitch a little frustrated because they feel they left a few more points out there.

"We set ourselves the goal of securing five points from the game and it was very much a case of job done.

"We really do want to finish as high as we possibly can now because it'll also show how we have progressed this season.

"To have that target has helped us and it also makes this Saturday's game at Stratford more important as well.

"If everything goes right in the summer then our aim is very much to get promotion next season. It'll be my third year, I've sorted a few things out and now we're ready to challenge for promotion. Getting used to having something still to play for at this time of year will only benefit us."

Dan Marsh will be available for selection against Stratford after missing the victory over Stoke.

Meanwhile, North Midlands will play their two home games in the Bill Beaumont Cup at Heathbrook this May.

They will take on Hampshire on Saturday, May 6 and Somerset on Saturday, May 20.