BILLERICAY Town manager Craig Edwards wants his side to call on the spirit of last season as they enter the final stages of their battle to stay in Blue Square Bet South.
The Blues saw another game called off at the weekend when their trip to Farnborough fell foul of the snow, and, starting with tonight's visit of Boreham Wood, Edwards' men have four games in eight days.
They remain in the bottom three, and with just one win in ten and three defeats on the spin, it has been a tough time for the Blues in their first season at this level.
But Edwards insists last season's run-in was just as tough and that they can repeat that this time around.
"It's going to be a battle," he said. "But last year when we had ten games to go we had to win virtually all of them to get into this league and we don't have to do as much this year, but it's going to be as difficult as we're playing better sides.
"The boys are very upbeat which is fantastic considering we've had a very poor run.
"There's still a quarter of the season to go. The first half of the season was decent.
"We had a dreadful third quarter and now we're hoping for a good final quarter and if we do, we'll stay up."
Edwards has boosted his squad this week with three new signings, but goalkeeper Kevin Scriven, defender Blaine Hudson and midfielder Bai-Mas Lettejellow have all had to wait to make their debut – a wait made longer after the game with Boreham Wood was put back 24 hours.
Edwards added: "The major concern was the weather, to get the pitch recovered from Saturday.
"But with England playing as well, there would be an impact on the gate. As much as our supporters are a loyal lot, minus 1C, a cold night and we're playing Boreham Wood or England on the TV, the chances are that a lot of people will take the latter option.
"I had to add to the squad. It's a great help to be able to bring in Kevin Scriven. He was the best goalkeeper in the league last year, he's vastly experienced and that can only help in the run-in.
"Blaine Hudson, he's not cost us anything, it's part of the deal for Joe Anderson going to Cambridge so that's a great deal for us at this stage and Bai-Mas is another very experienced player."
The Blues host Hayes & Yeading on Saturday, after which the club is holding a benefit night for Edwards' son Craig, who suffered a career-ending injury at Dorchester last month.
And Edwards added: "I want to say a few thank yous. The shops down the high street have been extremely generous, the club have been fantastic, we've had donations from other clubs which has been really great.
"It's fantastic. It's the response not just from the people of Billericay and the club itself but the wider footballing community, it's been wonderful.
"Craig would like to pass on his thanks. It should be a good night, there'll be a lot of faces old and new and hopefully it'll help him get through the next few months."
