HOT favourites Cammell Laird could be celebrating promotion to the Unibond Premier League come 4.45pm on Saturday . . .

Fourth-placed Sheffield FC - the only club that can now overhaul second-placed Lairds need to take maximum points from their two midweek matches.

Any points dropped will leave the Birkenhead club needing to take just one point from Saturday's home game against Grantham Town at Kirklands, Rock Ferry (kick-off 3pm).

Whoever finishes second in the Unibond League Division One South will earn the one automatic promotion ticket to the Premier League, following runaway leaders Retford United's failure to meet the FA's ground grading requirements.

Lairds took a mighty step towards securing second spot with two wins in two days in Lincolnshire at the weekend.

On Saturday, they won 2-1 at Spalding United with goals from Mark Reed and Eddie Jebb and on Sunday triumphed by a similar score at Quorn FC, seasoned campaigner Ian Cooke and Mark Reed finding the target.

Lairds spokesman Paul Mcloughlin is calling on local football supporters to go along to Kirklands on Saturday to cheer Lairds to promotion.

"A step up the ladder would provide us with local derbies next season against Marine, Prescot Cables and Vauxhall Motors and we have been waiting for this opportunity to clinch it for many weeks," he said.

And added: "It is only four years since we left the Carlsberg West Cheshire League - the lads have done amazingly well and our thanks are certainly due to our chairman, John Lynch, who has given the club so much support.

"It's certainly been a roller coaster ride for the club, but I think we've shown that low cost, quality football is alive and well in Birkenhead - hopefully, there will be more happy times ahead in the UniBond Premier League and we coul be celebrating that at 4.45pm on Saturday."