Albion Sports boss Kulwinder Sandhu admits his side’s current lofty position has exceeded his expectations.

His team are placed third in the Toolstation Northern Counties East League Premier Division following promotion last season.

They knocked leaders Tadcaster Albion off the top last time out by inflicting the Brewers’ first defeat since the opening week of the season.

And Albion would have been through the 50-point barrier had it not been for an untimely downpour.

Sandhu’s men were 4-1 up with less than half an hour to play at Staveley when the match was abandoned.

He said: “We are starting to get a few players back and we are looking forward to the second half of the season.

“It’s our first time in this division, the highest we have ever been as a club and it has gone better than we could have hoped.

“We have been inconsistent and lost some games that we should have won but to get players of the quality of Liam Ormsby and Adam Jones back is a big bonus.

“We hope we can hold our own and stay up the higher end of the table and then it will have been a good campaign for us.

“We’re not getting carried away.”

If they were to win the league they would not gain promotion to the Evo-Stik League because the club has not applied for step four in the pyramid. Clubs have to make a formal application to the Football Association before the end of November to be considered and have their ground graded.

Seven clubs applied from the NCE Premier, including Thackley and Brighouse Town. Albion are looking to join the established clubs in their new division before looking to push further up.

They also have the far from ideal situation of not having their own ground.

They were allowed promotion last season after Farsley stepped in with a ground-sharing offer after their arrangement with Bradford Park Avenue ended.