BRANTHAM Athletic are still undecided whether to apply for promotion this season.

With the December 31 deadline looming large, the club are literally weighing up the cost of promotion.

Should Brantham win the Ridgeons League Premier Division they would be eligible for promotion to Step 4, and most likely a move into Division One North of the Ryman League should they apply and meet all the relevant criteria.

If they were to finish second possible promotion would depend upon whether the champions have applied to move up the non-league pyramid, although the chances are less likely that the runners-up would be promoted as the number of Step 5 clubs applying usually exceeds the number of places available.

Brantham boss Tony Hall said: “The club are ambitious, but there is a lot to be done before we achieve the ground standard required to make the step up.

“We have until the end of this month to decide, and we are putting costings together at the moment before we make a final decision.”

Brantham currently occupy second place, five points behind leaders Wroxham, and Hall is absolutely delighted.

“The club set a target of trying to finish in the top 10 at the end of the season, and at Christmas we are second with a game in hand and have still to play Wroxham away.

“I have been really pleased with some of the performances so far, apart from one or two such as the 4-3 defeat at Great Yarmouth. No disrespect to them, but we are better than them. We have only lost four league games, and you would take that all day long at this stage of the season.”

Brantham have been idle since December 3 due to their matches at Dereham Town and CRC being postponed, due to county youth call-ups and electrical problems respectively.

Hall blasted: “It is outrageous that a club like Dereham can call off a match because of having three under-18s unavail-able. I have had players suspended and have had to bring three players in from the reserves, so why can’t they call up their reserves?”

Brantham’s inactivity means that defender Tom Wray has still not served a three-match ban and so misses the Boxing Day fixture at FC Clacton along with Alex Drennan, Dave Grimwood and Marc Lowe, who are all banned for one game.

“It will be tough because we have got four players suspended, but every game we play we target three points,” added Hall whose side entertain Walsham-le-Willows on New Year’s Eve and then Wivenhoe Town two days later.