DEAN Inman says Billericay Town cannot afford to give Dulwich Hamlet hope in the Isthmian Premier League title race tonight.

The two meet in a re-arranged fixture at the AGP Arena this evening in an important match near the top of the table.

However, despite occupying first and third spots in the league, both teams are in wretched form.

Billericay have lost four of their last five in the league while Dulwich are without a win in six matches.

And Inman says Town cannot afford to drop points against their title rivals.

“We know they have good players and work well as a team,” said Inman, who joined from Maidenhead United in October. “It is not an easy match and they will think they have a chance with the form we are in.

“If they do beat us then it will give them so much more confidence for the rest of the season. We need to prove our mettle and get back to form with a bang.

“If we can do that against a title rival then that could be the spark we need to kick on for the rest of the season.”

Inman, who has made 27 appearances since his switch to Billericay, has also backed the squad to remain united ahead of the run-in.

Saturday’s defeat to Worthing was their third in succession following a run of just two defeats from their first 50 games of term.

But Inman is more concerned with looking forward.

“We are more disappointed than pointing the finger,” he said. “It comes down to fine margins and that can make a big difference and we are still very confident.

“A lot of people would have thought we would have got a few more points at this stage than we have got. We can’t seem to buy a win at the moment but we know with the squad we have we can sort that out.

“We have the games in hand and we must do well in those now. We don’t want to give other teams hope.”