Gary McCann looked back with pride at the defeat of Harrow Borough. He said, "I am so proud of the group; how they have gone about their work under such pressure. They have given me everything I could have asked for.

"It wasn't the best of games to watch, but I thought we were very good in the right areas and deserved to win. Our midfield, defence and goalkeeper were immaculate – I think we limited Harrow to two attempts on goal.

"It has been a relentless 10 games for us. I did not think that winning our three penultimate games in a row would not have got us clear of danger.

"In fact, if you had offered me 21 points out the last 27 available I would have ripped off your hand. But the job is not done yet and we must not fall at the final hurdle on Saturday.

"We are in a great place in terms of our confidence and there has been a real togetherness about us.

"After we lost at Billericay, we had 32 points from 36 games and I gave the players a target from four groups of games, three, three, two and two. I knew 50 points - our target at the start of the season - was not going to be enough, but I thought 51 or 52 would have sufficed.

"We met the target in each of the first three sets, but even with a win from the first of game of the last pair, it was no enough. It is hard to believe that 53 points - or even 54 - may not be enough, but that just says how unpredictable the division is."