Ilford have been brought right back into the relegation battle with the revival of Waltham Forest, but Foxes boss Colin Walton believes three wins from the final five Ryman One North games will be enough to secure survival.

But Forest’s recent late surge has come at the wrong time for the Cricklefield outfit, as they have slipped to back-to-back defeats, the latest a 2-0 loss against Tilbury on Saturday.

“It was a very disappointing performance on Saturday against a side no better than us,” said Walton.

“But it was freak first goal with keeper Rob Budd’s misjudgement and a long ball over the top for the second.

“We have warned the players not to get complacent, but we should have picked up at least a point.”

After Saturday’s game with Potters Bar, the Foxes take on Grays, Enfield Town, Romford and Heybridge Swifts in their remaining fixtures and Walton can’t see an easy game amongst them.

“The five games we have left are all tough, with every side vying for a play-off spot,” he said.

“It usually comes to this stage of the season when most sides have cut budgets and have nothing to play for in the final few games. But it is in our hands and is ours to lose.

“We set a target of 35 points before the Tilbury game and that remains the same. Waltham Forest have a similar run-in but our aim is to catch Ware and we believe we can still do that with the games remaining.”

After a midweek without a fixture Walton feels his side are ready and have the ability to get the points required.

“Apart from the East Thurrock match, who completely dominated and deserved the win, we haven’t been outplayed,” he said. “We have had a couple of bad results but it is now up to us to pick up the points.”