Sutton & Epsom fly-half Frankie Murray says bonus points will play a crucial part in determining which two teams win promotion from London Division One South this season.

With seven games left, Sutton & Epsom are fourth in the table, 12 points off leaders Wimbledon, but only five points behind second-placed Chobham, who occupy the sole play-off spot.

Murray’s side host bottom-of-the-table Hove this weekend and he says they must aim for a high-scoring win.

“We are looking to build on a big score against Hove,” he said.

“We’ve slacked off a bit in recent weeks and lost out on big points.

“Every point is crucial at this stage and we are focused on winning by a big margin.”

He added: “It’s really tight at the top of the table and each team at the top still needs to play each other so bonus points are massively important now.”

Sutton & Epsom have won three of their past five matches, but their two defeats were against Chobham and Sidcup, who sit third in the table.

Parsons relieved to get Sutton & Epsom back to winning ways

Murray feels the team did not come up to scratch when it really mattered in those crucial matches.

“We have just not been clinical enough against the top sides,” he said.

“But I think we are over that now. We had a couple of good training sessions recently so things are looking good.”

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Flying fly-half: Frankie Murray in action for Sutton & Epsom

Barring a disaster, Sutton & Epsom will improve on last season’s 10th place finish, marking an overall move forward, something that has not gone unnoticed by Murray.

He said: “As a whole we have done well this season.

“We had a great run in the middle of the season where we won 11 games in a row which was brilliant.

“We are pushing for promotion, whether that is finishing first or second.

“It will be hard to catch up with Wimbledon looking at the way they are going at the moment and this is why we have to get as many points as possible.”