SAM Cox wants five wins from Hayes and Yeading’s remaining five games to secure survival and finish a turbulent season for the club on a high.

Cox captained the side to a glorious victory over fellow strugglers Tonbridge Angels on Sunday to lift United out of the Blue Square South drop zone.

Three points were badly needed following a 7-1 thrashing at Staines Town on Thursday that led to the resignation of manager Tony O’Driscoll.

New management team Tristan Lewis and Delroy Preddie stopped the rot against Angels, and Cox reckons the club has finally turned the corner.

He said: “Every single player in that dressing room has the utmost respect for Tony. We had training on Saturday and Tristan and Del gave us the motivation to go out and enjoy ourselves.

“With all the criticism we’ve been getting in recent weeks, they told us to go out there and enjoy our football. Enjoy the game we fell in love with. We went out with that attitude and applied ourselves against Tonbridge. Credit to the management staff, all the players, and everyone at the club.”

Victory over relegation rivals Tonbridge is just the beginning says Cox, who wants his side to maintain their momentum.

“Every game has got to be a cup final from now on to ensure the survival of this club and to push us as high up the table as we can get. Staying up gives us something to achieve, even if there’s no silverware up for grabs.

“We’ve got to represent the club well and see what we can do in these last five games.

“The results in this league don’t ever faze me. You can look at the weekend’s games and see the freakish results we can get in this league. I never really look at the table because it can change so quickly. If we win the next five games it could take us right back up there, but we’ll take them one at a time to ensure the survival of this club.

"With the new stadium, and the great lads we’ve got in the changing room, this club is on the up. We want to be in this league next season.”

Sunday’s win over Tonbridge leaves Hayes and Yeading in 15th spot in the league, with a trip to Bromley to follow this weekend.