Harrogate Town v Barnet: Sulphurites can emerge stronger after dark winter, says Simon Weaver

In truth, they should not be,. Even Weaver, so invested in the club he took into the 92 for the first time six years ago, admits that.

But a win at home to Barnet on Saturday will probably bring a seventh season of League Two football. Tranmere Rovers (at home to Grimsby Town), Crawley Town (at home to Salford City) and Newport County (at Barrow) will all need to win too to stop what will be a great escape after 22 out of the last 23 matchdays spent in the relegation zone.

In November, things were so bad at Notts County they were only able to name one outfield substitute, Shaun McCoulsky, who had played senior football.

"In November, December, you’re thinking, 'We've got more players in the injury room than out on the pitch,'" says Weaver, who has taken the club up from Conference North.

"Our senior physio was off having a baby, we really missed her. We were struggling to put a strong enough team out for this level. And that's when you're playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. We lost by one goal about 15, 16 times.

"We're trying to stop the bleeding, but we didn't have enough going forwards to get a win.

"We lost to a penalty at Salford, there was a sending off at Accrington and we set up the team tactically different because we didn't have enough attacking options.

"At times you have to be an actor and also, you're trying to convince yourself. I thought, I've got to weather it because these lads and staff, they don't want to see me down.

"I went for a lot of dog walks and tried to freshen up myself, to be as good as I can be. I've always believed you'll swing it back round if you work hard enough and surround yourself with good enough people.

"I've got a great assistant manager, Paul Thirlwell, and we have heaps of debates but we're united. We have fought wars before and come out on top and if we don't this time, yeah, we'll be upset but we've not half swung it back in our favour, the last 15 games.

"Six, 10 weeks ago, probably we weren't backed at all to take it to this point. If we do it now, it'd probably be the best moment since I've come to the club."

January was a time of regeneration, and results since show Harrogate have done it well.

"I've been here 17 years now, you go in certain cycles and you have to shed a skin at some point," is how Weaver sees it.

"You can't just spend, spend, spend. This is hard graft. You lose good players and it's not always easy.

"There's a bit of bleeding at times, a bit of hurt, but it's then down to us to work hard – a small group of people at a small club that, I'll be honest, is above its natural level.

"We got a fee for James Belshaw, Tom Cursons left as well, and we managed to bring in nine for the same price. They've all paid off and brought energy to the group.

"When you look at the likes of Newport, Barrow, Harrogate, we're three clubs at this level where if you're hit hard between the eyes, you're going to be struggling.

"But no one went under, it was about holding our nerve and trying to get points on the board, performances first, and trying to make the objectives for the team as simple as possible and achievable.

"Throughout the last 15 games we're 12th in the league, so whatever happens we have to be encouraged.

"I always thought if we could manage to get through it, we'll all be stronger because of it.

"The average age was one of the older ones and now we're one of the younger ones. You also don't just want to fight this fight, you want to build for the future.

"You do need some experience, but we needed legs and energy and it was evident we didn't have sufficient in the teams we could put out in between September and December.

"We took the opportunity to bring in Cathal Heffernan and Chanse Headman and now we have Bobby (Faulkner) back as well. We've had Lewis Cass, Jacob Slater's been on loan from Brighton so the average age has been 20 or 21 at the back.

"(Goalkeeper) Henry Gray did well and h was 20, but we brought Ox (Mark Oxley) back into the team."

There is encouragement on the terraces too. This will be the first season Harrogate will not finish in League Two’s bottom three for gates. Saturday's sell-out crowd could push them up to 19th.

"A lot of our supporters are new, since we've come up to the Football League," says Weaver. "They're coming back for a reason – that we're putting up a fight – and maybe they've got a bit more knowledge of the level. They seem right behind us, which we're very grateful for."

Now it comes down to one game.

Ellis Taylor and Mason Bennett are injured, and Newport's 108th-minute winner last week stopped them escaping the bottom two. But they will get on with it.

"The players were following it (the Newport game) in the changing room," recalls Weaver. “There's a missed penalty and we thought, 'Oh there'll be a final whistle,' but it wasn't to be.

"We've had that needle about us, that sheer desire to get out of it by the final whistle of the final game. It feels like about five months we've been in it, so really it boils down to four teams regardless of that late goal.

"They've been intense whilst they've been training but seeing the lighter side of things at the right time.

"Back-to-back wins and two clean sheets have given us a bit more confidence.

"Over the last couple of months, starting at Barrow, we've had five wins where it's a must-win situation but it's given the group spirit and you can go a long way with that."