RELEGATION looks a certainty for Basingstoke and Mid Hants’ men’s team – but they will be looking to end the season on a high when they travel to Liverpool for their final British Athletics League match of the year.

The Down Grange club go into Saturday’s fixture seventh in the National Division One table, knowing that they must win on the day to have any chance of staying up.

Despite this, team manager Ian Byett has almost all of his top athletes available for the long trip north.

Decathletes Sam Sleap and Ben Hazell are both in the side, as are Andy Blow, the only Basingstoke athlete to win an event so far this season, and talented sprinter Kieran Showler-Davis. Indeed, Basingstoke’s only big hitter missing the match is injured sprinter Dean Showler-Davis.

Byett said: “I am pleased that we are taking a strong team there because it shows that they are all committed and it would be nice to go out with a bang.

“The approach we are taking is that we are relegated but we want to put on a show to finish the season. We want to finish at least sixth, because we have been in the bottom two in all of the previous matches.

“I have got a fairly young team going, with quite a few under-20s. They are all keen to go and have the experience, which is another good sign going forward.”