Penrith chairman Billy Williams has issued a rallying call after a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Bishop Auckland.
After two successive wins had lifted the Bonny Blues out of the relegation zone, they faltered against another of the Northern League strugglers.
“We have to keep the faith and believe we can keep out of the bottom two, in what looks to be a four-horse race to avoid relegation.
“I’m afraid we just didn’t perform at Bishops, which was extremely disappointing after we had put two wins together.
“Conditions were awful, but of course it’s the same for both teams, and they adapted better than we did,” said Williams.
Bishops had scored twice in the first-half through Dale Milburn (18) and Marcus Giles (31) and although Greg McCaragher pulled one back on the hour Penrith didn’t really look like salvaging anything.
Penrith are also losing Matty Storey, who is leaving to go travelling, and reports suggest that ex-Carlisle forward Max Brown is on his way out of the club.
On Saturday they have a home game against Newcastle Benfield who are solidly mid-table some 12 points better off than the Cumbrians.
They could only draw 1-1 last week at home to Redcar Athletic who are fifth bottom, five points clear of the scrap among Penrith (24), Bishop Auckland (23), Billingham Town (22) and Northallerton (19) to avoid the drop.
Williams said: “It’s another big game in the 12 Cup finals we have left.
“Benfield have a very experienced forward in Paul Brayson who is 44 but still a dangerous player in front of goal. He’s been around the North East football scene for years.
“Their goalkeeper Andrew Grainger has been with Benfield for almost 20 years and in a way it’s good to see players like these two still fit and keen enough to keep on.”
