EVESHAM United have been trumpeted as one to watch this season by the manager of defeated opponents Melksham Town.

Boss Richard Fey said “whichever team finishes above Thatcham and Evesham will go on to win the league” following United’s 1-0 success in Wiltshire on Saturday, a view backed up by bookmakers.

Four wins and a draw from five outings sees the Robins third on BetVictor’s list of prospective champions at 5-1.

Early pacesetters Thatcham Town and fifth-placed Cinderford Town are marginally shorter at 4-1.

Jordon Sangha snaffled what proved the decider five minutes in at Oakfields, sweeping in at the far post Matt Dodd’s cross which had followed a tidy give and go with Lee Chilton on the halfway line before a sprint down the right wing.

Melksham went on to hit the woodwork twice but Fey argued his men could ill afford an off-colour start against an Evesham side he fancies to fare well, notwithstanding the outcome of a Southern League probe into the the eligibility of two players that could see up to 11 points deducted.

READ MORE | Evesham United could be deducted up to 11 league points

“We weren’t at the races in the first half. We were very naïve,” Fey told the Wiltshire Times

“Evesham are a good team, a proven Southern League outfit.

“We had a couple of chances in the first half but we came in a goal down.

“We were outstanding in the second half. Unfortunately, Joe Romanski hit the post and Luke Ballinger hit the bar — on another day those chances would have gone in.”

Fey continued: “We’ve got to be realistic, we’ve just played another team positioned in the division’s top five.

“Whichever team finishes above Thatcham and Evesham will go on to win the league.

“Displays over the past two games prove to me that we are value for money.”

United manager Carl Abbott was unavailable for comment.