Basingstoke RFC director Jim Dixon admits it is going to be very difficult to avoid relegation from London division one this season - but says that, with the youngsters coming through, the club has a bright future.

'Stoke look likely to go down at the end of the season after winning just four times in 19 outings so far this term.

They are four points below the safety line and will need to win at least two of their remaining three matches in order to avoid the drop.

Dixon acknowledges that staying up will be a tough task and puts the poor performances over the season down to inexperience and injuries.

"It is going to be very difficult for us to stay up now," he said. "We have to win all three of our remaining games and hope for other sides to do us a favour, but I have no doubt that the boys will give it their all.

"We have put in a lot of good work over the last few weeks in training and have been playing a lot better. If they can continue that next season, their development will continue.

"This season has been one of transition at the club. We have got a lot of really young guys who have stepped up from academy rugby to the first team, which is a big task and has proved to be difficult.

"We have also had terrible luck with injuries in key positions, which is just one of those things. We have had seasons where we have been able to keep the same 15 for months and that sort of continuity makes a big difference."

The club's director of rugby handed in his resignation recently and will leave his role in the summer, but is proud of the work he has done with young players such as Karl Buttle, Jamie Folan and Mike Goodall.

"We have done a hell of a lot to develop home-grown talent," he said. "There are players coming through at the moment who have a tremendous future and the club should benefit.

"To have half-a-dozen players under the age of 20 playing regularly for the first team is great for the club. There has been a lot of pressure and expectation on them, but I am confident that the club will see the fruit of this next season and over the next two or three years."

While Dixon admits that one or two of the promising youngsters at Basingstoke may wish to move on in order to play at a higher level, he feels that the sense of community at Down Grange will keep many of them at the club.

"It is inevitable that one or two of the players will want to play at a higher level and the club cannot hold them back," he said. "It is good for people to chase their dreams.

"On the whole, though, Basingstoke is very much a local club and I think that the majority of the squad will stay and make a very strong team in coming seasons."