KIDDERMINSTER Harriers manager Stuart Watkiss has no intention of giving up on the club if they lose their Coca-Cola League status at the end of the season.

Watkiss, who signed an 18-month contract in December, admitted the prospect of Harriers dropping back into the Conference was "really scary".

Harriers were promoted in 2000 but have found it tougher to compete financially as the seasons go by and are three points off third-from-bottom Shrewsbury going into today's game at Scunthorpe.

But Watkiss insisted they will just have to pick themselves up and go for the jugular again in non-league if the unthinkable does happen.

The straight-talking boss confessed: "I'm a Wolverhampton lad and am very aware of the rise of Kidderminster from the non-league ranks.

"I know the work that has gone in, how the ground has come on and just what progress has been made.

"It's kind of unfair in this game that if you have a bad season or three-quarters of a season, all that hard work can be undone.

"Ultimately, if Kidderminster are to go out of the league, you don't give up. You make sure that you come back to the Football League and you work your socks off in the Conference which is in itself a really difficult league.

"But you have to make sure you come back stronger than you were before. If we go out of the league, obviously everyone will be gutted but there comes a time when you pick yourself up, brush yourself off and set about getting out of the Conference.

"But we are not thinking about that at the minute as all our thoughts have to be geared up to maintaining our league status."

Watkiss added: "Sometimes you just have to take it a game at a time and not look at too wide a picture.

"If you did and thought too much about the pitfalls and what could happen, you wouldn't get out of bed in the morning."