Jeff Parsons has endured some heart-stopping moments as Sutton & Epsom’s head coach this season, and there are more on the horizon.
After winning promotion to London Division One South via the lottery of the play-offs last season, Sutton have put their coach through the mill.
Last-gasp wins over Havant and Chobham, have been off-set by last-gasp defeats against Wimbledon and Sidcup, and left Sutton in sixth and within striking distance of the top.
And now, after a two-week break, Sutton enter a run of three “massive” games against three of the top four sides, beginning with the leaders Chichester at home this weekend, followed by second-placed Gravesend and fourth-placed Brighton.
Parsons said: “We are confident we can get something out of these games, but we will need to be on our A game for all of them, they are massive.
“This is what rugby is all about – these are the games we want to be involved in.
“Although after some heart-stopping games recently, I don’t know if I can take too many more close affairs.”
Parsons will be without Mike Blakeburn (broken hand) and Guy Stuckey-Clarke, who has returned temporarily to Australia.
Missing: Mike Blakeburn will be out for the forseeable future with a broken hand
While the pair are big-part players for Parsons, he is more nervous about losing players during the three-match stretch.
“Chichester are a big and very physical side, so it will be a tough game and we’re likely to pick up some bumps and bruises,”
Parsons said: “It will be unfortunate if we lose players while heading straight into another tough game, rather than maybe having a weaker opponent to give them a rest.”
He added: “But we’ll have to take that as it comes, we know what three wins would mean, so we’re focused on that.”
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