After watching their side succumb to another final-quarter slump and haemorrhaging precious points, Pertemps Bees followers could be forgiven for leaving the final six matches of the season after an hour.

Never was this more true than on Saturday when the Solihull side led undefeated champions-elect Northampton Saints 17-15 with only 20 minutes to go. But, just as they had against Nottingham in their previous home match, they conceded a late try, two in fact, to lose an encounter they not only deserved to win but for the most part looked as though they would.

If the worst does come to pass and the Sharmans Cross outfit slip out of the First Division next month the club coroner would be advised to start his postmortem at the end and work backwards.

Indeed, had all of their matches this season ended after 60 minutes Bees would not be in the relegation zone. They would have 39 points as opposed to 23 and would be only a single win from London Welsh in ninth.

They have lost 20 in all in the final quarter and snatched only four, leaving them with a net deficit equivalent to four wins.

The Exiles feature prominently in this hypothesis. Bees should have done the double over the men from Old Dear Park but instead lost both encounters. The first, at home, sums up eloquently the problems Bees have had closing matches out. Coasting after an hour, they conceded three tries in the last 15 minutes, had one disallowed and lost a man to a yellow card.

With the entire ground still raging at referee Mark Wilson's decision to award a penalty try and then sin-bin Pete Bucknall, Welsh smuggled Colm Hannon across the line eight minutes into injury time.

It was as close in west London in January when Bees led 10-9 with 14 minutes to go but allowed Allen Chilten to sneak over from a close-range scrum.

Of all the late-game turnarounds, caretaker head coach Russell Earnshaw identifies the home loss to the Exiles and last month's jawdroppingly harsh reverse to Nottingham as the most difficult to take.

"London Welsh at home was horrible because it was out of our hands," he says. "There were three decisions that went against us at the end, all of which were wrong.

"Against Nottingham we did everything right until the eleventh minute of injury time when we made one mistake which cost us the game."

Had that match lasted an hour it would not have affected Bees' position. They were trailing 5-0 for most of the afternoon and led with only ten minutes to go when Jon Higgins capitalised on Mitch Culpin's try and kicked a penalty for 10-5.

While Saturday's comeback by Northampton was only the second time in ten games that Bees squandered wins or bonus points to fourth-quarter scores, they actually managed that feat seven times in their first 14 fixtures. As things stand - ten points from safety - it could be that disastrous statistic that costs them.

However, Chris Kemp has come in and assumed responsibility for conditioning and Earnshaw says he has pictorial proof to show things have improved, saying: "Chris has taken photos when he came in and again recently and the difference in the players' body shapes is ridiculous. Someone like Will Matthews is a pretty defined guy anyway but even his has changed - we are definitely much fitter."

There has also been a suggestion that Bees' problems closing games out have been mental, indeed at least seven winning positions - though admittedly not all created by the 60th minute - have not been converted.

The matches against Welsh, Esher and Cornish Pirates at home and Sedgley Park away are classic examples of Bees starting stronger but falling away when it counts most.

Earnshaw hopes that has changed. They appeared to have exorcised that ghost with a nail-biting win against Doncaster in which they conceded a try with 12 minutes to go but held out 22-20.

He feels the major factor behind their end-of-game problems has been finance and personnel: "You look over to the bench and think 'Are we going to benefit by bringing players on?'," he said.

"We had guys early in the season who meant we would have been better off keeping players on the pitch. That's not the case now. We can have an impact off the bench too."

* POINTS WON AFTER AN HOUR, LOST SOON AFTER

Sept 1, Bees 17 Rotherham 31: A 69th-minute try by Titans' former Worcester full back Jamie Lennard deprived Bees of a loss bonus;

Sept 8, Moseley 23 Bees 11: The concession of ten points in last quarter-hour meant point was missed;

Sept 29, Bees 20 London Welsh 24: A four-point win became only a loss bonus as Welsh scored three converted tries in 14 minutes;

Oct 27, Nottingham 22 Bees 10: David Wilks's catch and drive three minutes from the end sees another point go begging;

Nov 10, Bees 23 Esher 29: Bees lead 18-17 after an hour. A last-minute Douglas Flockhart try costs three points;

Nov 24, Newbury 20 Bees 6: The hosts score a converted try and penalty in 15 minutes to deprive Bees of another loss bonus;

Dec 1, Sedgley Park 15 Bees 14: Could this be the most costly? 14-0 up, Bees collapse in the final quarter and take one point when they should have had four;

Jan 19, London Welsh 16 Bees 10: The visitors were 10-9 up until Allen Chilten scored with 14 on the clock. Three more points gone.

March 8, Bees 17 Northampton Saints 27: What might have been the most unlikely of victories ends in bitter defeat as Bees have a try disallowed and leak two in three minutes to lose all four points