ANDY Tipp has accepted the decision not to save Totton & Eling from relegation with good grace.

When Winchester City were handed a late promotion to the Southern League, the second-to-bottom Millers wondered if they might be kept in the Sydenhams Premier Division to get it back up to 22 clubs.

But those hopes were sunk at Tuesday’s league AGM where SWL chairman Ian Hoare made it clear he wanted to protect numbers in Division One having reached a healthy 18 for the new season.

While admitting it was “disappointing” not to be staying up, chairman/co-manager Tipp was determined to look on the bright side.

It had, after all, been a difficult season for the Millers, both on and off the park.

“I thought there might be a lifeline for us, but we are where we are and in some ways relegation is not a bad thing for us,” he said.

“The club maybe needs to take a backward step.

“We’ve got to get on with it now and see if we can win Division One.

“We’ve done it before and some of the lads are actually excited by it because they know we’ll win more games in that division than in the Premier.”

The Millers struggled badly for the first part of last season with a young, inexperienced team on the field and a lack of bodies off it.

But the return of several T&E ‘old boys’ lifted the gloom and, buoyed by growing support from the club’s youth section, the outlook is far brighter.

“If we can keep our older players fit and rolling back the years we can take on anyone on our day. And hopefully the youngsters we’ve got coming through will step up to the mark,” said Tipp.

“We’re starting up a reserve team as well and going into the Wyvern League.”