ALBION Sports would go a long way to securing their NCEL Premier Division status with a victory at home to Emley AFC today.

The game is being described as their “Most important of the season” by manager, Rizwan Mohammed, who believes a win will be key to his side making strides away from the relegation zone.

Albion currently sit one spot above the drop zone in 18th place but have a couple of games in hand on the two sides below them.

Just above the side from Bradford are today’s opponents Emley, who are five clear of Albion, but the latter have a game in hand on them.

Ahead of today’s fixture, Mohammed stressed the importance of a victory for his side.

He said: “I think it’s the start of the business end of the season now. I don’t think it determines how we do in the rest of the season, but we do know the importance of this weekend’s game.

“We played in the league cup on Wednesday night, but we had the Emley game in our minds because of the significance of it. It gave me the chance to look at several different players and options, so it was very good for that aspect.

“But I believe Saturday’s (today) game against Emley is the most important game of the season up until now. As the season goes on and the circumstances change, then there might be games which become more important and season defining but based on the campaign so far this is definitely the most important we’ve had.”

Mohammed added: “The fact that they are sat just above us in the league is huge. They are five points ahead of us but we have a game in hand, and it would be ideal if we could close that gap to two points.

“I always said when I took over that I don’t want to be looking at what’s behind us, but instead looking ahead in the table. I want to try and catch those teams ahead, that’s the goal from now and a victory would be key in changing our from and momentum.”

When the new boss took over in November, Albion instantly went on a typical ‘manager bounce’ run, winning their opening three fixtures with Mohammed in charge.

But form has dipped and the Bradford side are currently on a five-game losing streak. However, they have been given a timely boost with the new arrival of defender Eisa Faulding.

Mohammed said: "I've known Eisa for a number of years now because I had him at Thackley with me. He brings a different dynamic to our other defenders. He's extremely versatile and can play in a number of positions.

"And anybody that has seen him play will tell you he is very quick. You do come up against opposition strikers in this league who are extremely quick and it can be difficult to match that pace as a defender.

"But I think with Eisa, you can do exactly that. He's very quick.

"He's also very good on the ball and likes to get the ball down and play. This is great for us because it fits into how we want to play, and it will only speed up the process in how fast we can achieve that with players like Eisa joining the club. I'm very happy with the edition."