At the beginning of the season, in an interview with Nub News Sport, Axminster Town manager Dan Prettejohn said his main objective was to see the Tigers finish this current season in a better position than last year's sixth in the South West Premier East division.

With Axminster having completed half of their fixtures in this current season, the Tigers sit comfortably in fifth place so Prettejohn can feel reasonably pleased that his expectations are in line with his ambition.

With 18 games completed - nine wins, five draws and four losses - Axe occupy fifth place with 32 points. Okehampton Argyle lead the division with 53 points from 22 games, followed by Crediton United (50 points), Ivybridge Town (45 points) and Brixham (37 points).

Newton Abbot Spurs are close on the Tigers' tails, trailing by one point but Axe have a game in hand. Teignmouth in seventh place could also catch them with two games in hand.

It will be difficult for Axminster to improve on fifth place considering the points advantage of the top three sides, which means that retaining fifth place has to be the immediate focus.

Prettejohn and his squad know very well that they there are few poor sides at this level which adds importance to a good result this coming Saturday when the Tigers travel to Newton Abbot Spurs, their last game before Christmas. They have a short rest then until Tuesday, December 27th when they entertain bottom club Bridport who are struggling in their first season in the Peninsular.

But the Bees, under new manager Chris Herbst, will be no pushovers and gave Axminster a run for their money in a cup game earlier in the season.

One issue which may worry the manager is Axminster's poor disciplinary record this season, having had six players sent off and 35 yellows. But as I have written before, the upside of this is that it shows Axminster's intention to compete at a high temp. But the suspensions that follow can upset the balance of the side and Prettejohn will be hoping that the second half of the season will not see so many of his players seeing red.

One of Axminster's big assets is their youth section which caters from ages six to 18, professionally run which will eventually provide the stars of the future at Tiger Way. An Under 18s squad has been formed this year, playing in the Western Counties Midweek Floodlit League and managed by Axminster legend Sam Dibling.

Dibling is expected to manage a new Reserves team next season and this is also a positive move as it could well produce locally-born players with the ambition and the ability to become first team players.

Off the pitch, Axminster remain one of the most active clubs in the league with regard to fundraising. Rarely a week goes by without some sort of money using event taking place to keep the Tigers' tip-top facilities in pristine condition. Their recent Christmas Family Fun day has been described as a "wonderful" success with loads of kids getting their first sight of Santa.