By Roger Clarke - Birmingham Mail
March 22 2006

PHIL Maynard was celebrating last weekend after his relegation gamble romped home to save his Pertemps Bees side from relegation without even lacing up their boots. PHIL Maynard was celebrating last weekend after his relegation gamble romped home to save his Pertemps Bees side from relegation without even lacing up their boots.

Maynard, Bees' director of rugby, has set out his stall all season on the basis that the RFU would, eventually, agree to extend National One by two teams by the simple procedure of allowing two clubs to come up from National Two with none going down from National One.

It meant that Maynard has kept his powder dry ready for next season by taking the risk that the squad assembled for this year would be good enough to stay up which, with Bees second bottom, will now no longer be tested - with the safety net of the RFU decision coming to the rescue if all was to go pear-shaped.

Maynard said: "I had planned for no relegation this year which has meant we have been more prudent - and that has been a difficult pill to swallow.

"We are now planning for next season and the players are playing for new contracts. We have entered a bit of a siege mentality and you find out about people in these difficult times.

"Anyone who has watched the games since Christmas will have seen that this small group of players have given everything they have got and it is now up to the club and management to support them and to increase the size of the squad to what is necessary to operate in this division."

Maynard said that he was not talking about quality of player in the squad but quantity.

"Taking into account there are four extra games next season we need to get the squad up to about 39 from the current 29," he said.

Ten extra players of National One calibre do not come cheap but Maynard added: "It is exciting times at the club. There has been an awful lot of work done off the park this year to get ourselves in a position to take the club forward."

Bees have had some better news on the injury front with hooker Matt Miles' ankle problem diagnosed as a sprain rather than ligament damage as was feared when he was carried doff in the defeat by Bedford.

He is unlikely to be fit for this weekend's trip to Otley but could be back for the following week against Rotherham.

Winger Adam Billig is also expected to be fit for Otley after suffering a knee injury last week.