ALTHOUGH there are no senior fixtures this weekend, Weymouth & Portland coach Paul Harding is in reflective mood.

He said: “Losing out to leaders Yeovil last weekend gave me all of the information that I required to see exactly where we are in the development of the squad. Despite that, we were without a number of players who were injured, even if we had our strongest side out I don’t think we would have won the game.

“The defeat means that the league championship is now beyond our reach and has seen us drop down from second to third place on 74 points behind second-placed Bournemouth on 77 and Yeovil on 86.

“We still have to play Bournemouth at home on April 2 and Bridport away two weeks later. Then Bournemouth have to visit Yeovil on the last Saturday of the league season on April 23, so the runners-up place is very much in our sights.”

Harding added: “If we do finish as runners-up and the league administrators see fit to promote us then all well and good, but this is not the way I wanted to go up. I want us to beat all of the other teams in the division and get promoted as champions, but the pressure is off this weekend and I am looking forward to going down the club to watch England versus Wales with the rest of the lads.”

Meanwhile, Weymouth & Portland Seconds have wrapped up the Dorset & Wilts Division Four title with a game to spare.

* Weymouth & Portland Colts entertain Yeovil at Monmouth Avenue tomorrow (2.30pm).

Club chairman Ian McMillan said: "The colts are our first-team players of the future so it would be nice for them to see a good crowd of supporters on the touchline."