The Sportingbet Channel Islands Athletics Club men’s team bid to retain their place in the British League at a crucial meeting in Bedford today.

Currently lying at the bottom of the Division III table, tied with three other teams, they will be looking to improve on their last result, when they finished last out of the eight involved. With only two matches to go a good performance is a must as two of the three teams will be relegated at the end of the season.

The men will be without Guernsey runner Dale Garland as his selection for the British Olympic team rules him out of the remaining fixtures. ‘I can’t be 100 per cent confident because we keep getting hit by injuries,’ said coach Andrew Winnie, ‘but I think with the guys coming in we have a strong enough team to survive this season.’

The fitness of 400m runner Tom Druce is likely to be key to the team’s success in Bedford. Druce missed the last meeting through injury and is currently sidelined with a muscle strain that could see him miss out this weekend. He will still be making the trip as Winnie is rating his chances of competing as 50/50 at the moment.

• Picture Channel Islands AC captain Peter Irving