SALTAIRE are gearing up for a crunch clash at home with Beckwithshaw today as they enter the telling end of the campaign.

The Bradford side currently sit at the top of the Aire-Wharfe Division 1 league table and are 48 points above their nearest competitors Rawdon, however they have a game in hand on the league leaders.

With a tough five game run-in at the end of the campaign, Saltaire and their captain Usman Munir know the importance of winning and know a slip up could well prove to be costly in their chase for the title.

He said: “The game against Beckwithshaw is one of the most important games of the season.

“That’s because of the stage we are in the season and any loss could stop us in our tracks, and also because they are playing really well themselves.

“If we win this it will give us the confidence to carry on into the final four games.

“We’ve won our last four games in the league so the confidence is high. I’ve been out for them games and I’m back next week for the North Leeds fixture so hopefully the boys can get the job done without me this weekend.

“Unfortunately, the game this weekend has come too soon for me but when I do come back, hopefully it will give the squad an extra boost in the final push.”

Munir added: “Like I’ve said, the confidence is there for the game this weekend.

“The next five games, including Beckwithshaw are going to be a big test for us because we’ve got five fixtures against the top half of the table.

“Beckwithshaw are a brilliant all-round team but their batting in particular is a standout for them.

“Their batting has always been a strong point of their game so let’s hope it stays dry and we can win the toss.

“Their captain is their main man with the bat and we feel that we need to get him early.

“If we get into him and the top three order, then I am confident we can get the job done.”

“I do feel the confidence to go and win the title is there throughout the team but at the same time we’ve got to take it one game at a time.

“We can’t get over excited and the first challenge we face is Beckwithshaw which is a massive game.

“Once we get that job done then we go into a game with North Leeds which is another tough game.

“The games will keep on coming but we must just focus on what is in front of us.”

The passing of former Saltaire captain Micheal Eglin in March 2019 has given Munir’s side added impetuous to go on and win the title. And the current captain admitted the celebrations would be wild if they were to secure the championship.

He said: “There will be massive celebrations if we win the league. It will be huge for the club and we’ve worked so hard to reach our goals of winning the league.

“And like I said recently, we made a promise to our ex-captain that we would win the title for him so if we do we will celebrate even more for him.”