Bishop Auckland manager Colin Myers is hoping to sign veteran defender Phil Brumwell before their away game at West Auckland this Saturday.

Brumwell, who has played at Anfield and Wembley in a career going back nearly two decades, is about to sign from neighbours Shildon, and assuming there are no hitches, will make his debut on Saturday in Bishops’ local derby against West Auckland.

Myers said: “We’ve got loads of young players in the team, and we need some experience to help them along. We signed Karl Everitt not long ago, and hopefully he and Phil will provide the experience we badly need.”

The three points against Esh in a 4-0 win on Tuesday night were much appreciated by Bishops, who are now five points above third bottom Stokesley. Esh now look doomed at second bottom, they are six points away from safety, and have played more games than everybody above them.

Myers said: “It was a good win, I thought we dominated from start to finish. But we’re not papering over the cracks, there’s still a few things wrong. The second goal made it a bit easier for us.”

Esh Winning boss Peter Mulcaster, whose side has now failed to score in 14 league games this season, said: “Bishops were the better side. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

There was a debate over the red card for deliberate handball by Danny Lawson, which also led to a penalty that Steven Turnball missed.

“I would have been unhappy if it had happened to one of my players,” said Myers. “It wasn’t deliberate, he didn’t stick his hand out,” said Mulcaster.

Tow Law eased the pressure on themselves by beating Penrith 2-1, and also climbing over the Cumbrians in the table. “It was a massive six pointer for us,” said manager Ian Davison. “We’re aiming now for another six or seven wins.

“Penrith played really well, and the first half was pretty much end to end. I thought we defended a lot better than we did last Saturday at Ashington.”

Sunderland RCA boss Neil Hixon saw his side climb further away from relegation trouble with a 4-1 home win over Jarrow Roofing. They are now twelve points above the drop zone. Hixon said: “We should have had more goals in the first half, but I can’t grumble with the final score. Joe Walton was magnificent, he scored two and set up another. He’s been our best player so far this season.”

Roofing are now seven points above the relegation zone, and have played 24 games.