Oxhey Jets left it late to avoid relegation from the South Midlands Premier Division – leaving it until their final game to secure safety – and manager Bob Wyatt doesn’t want to go through that again, saying their brush with relegation has to be the wake-up call.

Wyatt believes the club needs to rebuild its structure, bring in more coaches, establish a new training routine and see an influx of new players – plans which are all on the agenda this summer.

He said: “It was horrible this season. You could hear the pity from some people when we visited their clubs. It was a team that had become used to losing.

“It was a broken job when I took it on.”

The club never recovered from losing last season’s prolific striker Lee Armitt to London Colney.

“He got 50 or 60 goals for us last year and that covered up a lot of the cracks,” said Wyatt.

Those cracks were exposed without him and this season Jets have spent the campaign battling to keep their heads above water until Saturday’s 2-1 win at Broxbourne Borough ensured they reached the shore safely.

Wyatt said: “At the end there was a lot of punching the air and a sense of relief around the club. It was a relief to get it done and it’s a relief the season is over because it has been such a dire season.”

Jets froze last week when they could have finished the job, crashing to a 4-1 defeat against Holmer Green, which left them drinking in the last-chance saloon when they faced Broxbourne on Saturday.

But cometh the hour, cometh the men and the revved up Jets did what they had to.

Wyatt said: “You could sense the different atmosphere in the dressing room before the game. The lads were really focused and I was confident we’d win.”

Jets recalled Adam Lowton and Andy Brennan to put some fresh legs into the side and the team started superbly.

They were controlled and patient with skipper Jamie Speer leading by example and Brennan’s aerial dominance being key.

Oxhey got the benefit of an early goal when Greg Usher re-directed Warren Gladdy’s cross into the net after 12 minutes. Boosted by that, the Jets dominated the first half, but had to wait until the 57th minute before doubling their advantage.

Chris Blunden was the man responsible for putting daylight between the teams, unleashing a 20-yard dipper which flew in.

There had to be a twist and it duly arrived 10 minutes from time when Borough halved the deficit to raise the anxiety levels to critical in the Jets ranks.

Hearts were in Oxhey mouths when their crossbar was left rocking as Broxbourne threw everything at them in a frantic finale but, at the other end, Usher might have made the game safe but couldn’t take the chance.

Leverstock Green are another relieved side. Their safety was secured a week earlier when other results saved them. It was a good job they did because Leverstock were no experts in self-help.

Green finished their season with five straight league defeats. They suffered a 4-1 defeat at home to Hadley at Pancake Lane on Saturday before finishing their season as flat as their ground name suggests with a 6-0 reversal at home to Cockfosters on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, a hat-trick from ex-Comrade Louis Bircham saw Sun Sports beat high-flying Berkhamsted 3-1.

Bircham had two to his name before Alex Campana replied. But it was Bircham’s day and he completed his treble with a free-kick.

Just days earlier Sun Postal had been beaten 3-1 by Cockfosters with Kyle Duncan-Johnson getting Sun’s goal.

Berkhamsted had also been in action on Saturday, drawing 2-2 against Hoddesdon, the team just above them in the table.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Berko, who conceded two late goals and missed a penalty when Josh Chamberlain’s kick was saved.

That miss did not look costly when Adam Mead and Campana’s solo goal put them 2-0 up. But Hoddesdon pulled one back and then snatched an equaliser deep into injury time.

Tring Athletic warmed up for their two cup finals, the St Marys Cup on Monday and the Herts Charity Shield on May 17, by concluding their league campaign with a four-point haul.

They began with a 4-0 win at South Midlands runners-up London Colney on a day when Tring’s reserves lifted the Suburban Challenge Plate Trophy to add to the league title already won.

Ryan Sturges put them one up at London Colney and Sam Joliffe’s penalty doubled their advantage.

Two became three when Luke Dunstan fired home and the win was complete when Lee Stobbs scored his tenth of the season.

Stobbs and Joliffe were on target again on Monday as Athletic finished their league season with a 2-2 draw against Hadley.