Guiseley’s joint boss Marcus Bignot has been at pains to stress to his side that despite opening up a small gap over 20th place with a handful of fixtures to go, they still aren’t safe from the drop. The Lions have done well to pull away from danger in recent weeks but Bignot is making sure none of his troops feel in the slightest bit complacent.
The 44-year-old’s insistence that his team apply themselves properly isn’t without very good reason and slow starts in recent fixtures against Spennymoor and York City prove that the Nethermoor Park outfit are susceptible to coming into games slightly undercooked. Bignot even went as far as to say they could lose all their remaining fixtures which will undoubtedly lead to relegation.
Well earned point on Saturday! We go again Tuesday night away to Spennymoor! pic.twitter.com/SJsOOQG4uL
— Michael Fowler (@Michael_fowlerr) April 1, 2019
The Lions gaffer really isn’t taking any chances given the unpredictability of the league and who can blame him, especially if you have a look back at their nearest competitor in the drop zone, FC United of Manchester’s results. In their last two fixtures, the Reds have conceded seven goals but had gone four games unbeaten before the wheels began to fall off, in fact, that mini unbeaten run started with a thrilling 3-3 draw against Guiseley in mid-February.
On that occasion, Guiseley switched off and let a two-goal lead slip and when you look at their remaining fixtures, it’s not hard to conjure up a scenario where the Lions look back on a calamitous 20 minutes that killed their season.
Beautiful day for football here in Manchester. Huge game ahead for the Lions! #GAFC pic.twitter.com/AA8sovY4z9
— Guiseley AFC (@GuiseleyAFC) February 16, 2019
Make no mistake, FC United are a team capable of catching Guiseley and pulling them into the dreaded mix.
It’s congested at either end of the table and as Guiseley fight to secure their National League North status, Chorley are looking to try and pull away from the chasing pack. The Lancashire outfit are favourites to win the league at 5/6 in football betting with Stockport County the only side that can realistically pip them to the title. This is the time of the season where teams at the top and bottom of the league are desperate to put a run together but the opposite seems to happen as nerves take over.
Dropping points becomes a frequent pastime in the fight to stay in the division or win it, and really it comes down to who can hold their nerve the best. So what chance do Guiseley have of staying focused enough in the run-in to stay up?
Marcus Bignot is a man well versed in the fight to avoid relegation, having experienced the woes of going down in his playing days, as well as the highs of captaining QPR to safety in the Championship before they were bought out by F1 magnates Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone.
Still today, Bignot argues and quite rightly too, that QPR wouldn’t have been bought by such wealthy individuals had they been a League One side. So it’s fair to say the 44-year-old knows what it takes to avoid the drop and should the Lions players follow his lead, they should do just enough to remain in the division.