Alan Devonshire has spoken of his pride in keeping Braintree Town in the top echelon of English non-league football for a fourth season.

The Iron’s 1-0 win at Nuneaton Town on Easter Monday made them mathematically safe from the threat of relegation from the Vanarama Conference Premier for another season.

The victory was brought by a Dan Sparkes goal late on and took them past the 50-point mark that has guaranteed their safety.

This season may not have seen the level of success that the Iron have enjoyed in previous years – especially last season’s top-six finish – but they have endured a lengthy injury list during the current campaign and their manager is proud of what he, his staff and players have achieved.

Devonshire said: “I’m proud that in the four years that I’ve been at the club, we’ve been safe in the division.

“There are no sweaty palms about relegation come the end of the season and I’m very proud of the boys.

“We know what our problem has been this year and we haven’t scored enough goals.

“We’ve been OK and have had a lot of injuries, but we know what we need to do.

“But for four years the board haven’t had to be too worried about being relegated and I’m delighted with that.”

However, the job is not yet done and Devonshire is now eyeing a strong finish to the campaign from their final three games, starting against Aldershot at the Miles Smith Stadium on Saturday.