BUCCANEERS team boss Garry May believes his up-and-coming side is on the brink of winning the National League and Knockout Cup double in their first season.

May is confident his young charges will have enough in the tank to hold on to the four-point lead from Sunday’s cup final first leg against Buxton and win the club’s first major honour its history in tomorrow’s second leg of the league cup at Wimborne Road.

May told the Echo last night: “I’ve got to keep pinching myself to believe this is true. We are so close to realising a dream.

“I was worried about the first leg at Buxton on Sunday because we had suffered our biggest defeat in Derbyshire in August in the league, losing by 14 points.

“When we lost Danny Warwick – after his horror crash last Thursday – I was starting to think the boys might struggle to contain Buxton on their own track as we were under strength.

“But just when I think this Buccs team is under pressure they go out and surprise me even more.

“We have put ourselves in a great position. Now we have to focus on Thursday and make home advantage pay.

“I’m certainly not over-confident, but I’m definitely confident. The Buxton track caught us out earlier in the summer, but the great strength of this is their ability to show they ride stronger through adversity.”

May added: “At the start of this season when we were putting together the Bournemouth side for the first time, I had visions that we could finish mid-table and make a respectable start to life in the league.

“But it’s just got better and better. Local lads like Kyle Newman have shown that being born and bred here means so much more.”

Co-promoter Matt Ford paid tribute to the incredible work May and Neil Vatcher had done with the Buccs this season.

Ford admitted: “I have needed Garry and Neil’s ability to spot talent at National League level and they have done all that and more.

“This is a great opportunity in this new era for the Buccs to make a clean sweep of the major trophies in the National League at the first time of asking.”

The first leg of the National League play-off final between Buccs and Plymouth is at Plymouth on October 23 with the second leg at Wimborne Road on Wednesday, October 28.