KENDAL Director of Rugby Steve Whitehead said that the persistence his side of shown recently will prove vital in their bid for promotion in the new year.

Kendal defeated Vale of Lune 5-0 in the dying moments of the match on Saturday as Zane Butler crossed the line after long, gruelling battle.

Whitehead was delighted with the performance in what was a tough local derby and he insisted that the resilience shown by his side to play to the end says a lot.

He said: "I think given the conditions and the fact it was a local derby, that goes back long before my time, we did extremely well to hold on and get the victory.

"Vale of Lune genuinely had one of the best defences we've played against this season, a lot of credit must be given to them.

"Sometimes it is just about getting the win however you can and our patience on the ball and the fact that we were able to wait for the opportunity proves what a good side we are.

"I think it will prove to be very important next season that level of persistence. It's what it's all about really being able to rely heavily on your defence as well as your attack and being patient.

"We are very happy to be where we are now and we should just keep doing what we have been doing, because the other side of the break is going to be just as tough."

The win left Kendal in second place with a game in hand in North One West, just a point behind derby rivals Kirkby Lonsdale.

The only game Kendal have lost all season was against Kirkby, but Whitehead believes they can overtake them in the new year.

He said: "I'm not really too worried about overtaking Kirkby, we've just got to focus on ourselves, a lot of the positioning in the table will be down to them as well as us.

"I no doubt believe though that we have the tools to win the title, I've always said we have the best squad in the league and I'm starting to see us come together as a team more and more.

"We have come a long way over the past year, for example last season I'm fairly convinced we would have lost that game to Vale but there's a difference with everything now.

"We were very glad to come away with the win against Vale and I'm looking forward to the new year where we should be there or thereabouts and hopefully fighting it out with Kirkby."