HELENSBURGH RFC coach Iain Ross admits Saturday’s home tie with Garnock is a must win for the Grizzlies, but he has backed his side to deal with the pressure and notch a vital three points.

Burgh sit second bottom of the West District Division One table, level on points with third bottom Cambuslang and five ahead of bottom club Garnock.

With some uncertainty over the number of clubs to go down due to the prospect of league reconstruction, it is likely to be two, but as the bottom three could drop, Ross’ men face a nervous run-in.

However, one thing that is clear for Ross is his team must prevail in Saturday’s match with Garnock at Ardencaple.

He said: “We’re basically marking this down as a must win. Every game this season is difficult, but the squad we have available for home matches is far stronger than the one we take to away games.

“We’re still suffering with some injuries to key players, but we’re hopeful of having a strong team on Saturday and getting a result. It is a massive game for both teams because Garnock will be desperate for a victory too, they’ll be thinking a win against us and another couple of results and they’ll be out of trouble. But these are the kind of games you look forward to.”

After Garnock’s visit Helensburgh have three home games to secure their league status.

With mid-table sides Allan Glens, Oban and Lenzie to come Ross is confident in his side’s chances of avoiding the drop.

He added: “We’ve played all of the top teams and we have four home games left, they are against sides in the middle of the table so that gives us a good chance.

“We’re confident of staying in this division, it’s difficult when you don’t know exactly how many go down, but we have to get on with it and win as many many games as we can.

"The injuries haven’t helped this season and the players we have coming up from the youth teams are thin on the ground.

"That’s a problem the club have to try to address in the next few years. Boys need to be 18 to play senior rugby and by that time the younger players are quite often moving away for university or work.”