WHEN North Ferriby's existence was thrown into doubt back in October 2011, Paul Foot had a difficult decision to make.
The Villagers had just lost £40,000 in sponsorship money which threatened to bring the club to its knees.
Chairman Les Hare feared the worst for the club he and the rest of the board had worked so hard to get into the seventh tier of English football.
Hare knew the players could have left for better pay elsewhere, leaving him the unenviable task of finding players willing to play for reduced wages.
But skipper Foot's actions spoke volumes for himself and the rest of the squad as he happily had his contract cancelled to play for smaller wages.
Foot was as hurt as Hare that his club was entering dark days financially and he successfully persuaded the rest of the players to stay put with him.
Their loyalty has been rewarded in the biggest way possible with promotion to the Conference North for the first time in their history nears just one win away.
Foot never regretted his decision to stay and come 5pm today, the skipper could be lifting the Evo-Stik Premier Division title.
"I remember the day Les told me and then manager John Anderson the club's financial losses," Foot told the Mail.
"It didn't sound good. But I didn't give it a moment's thought because I wanted to stay.
"North Ferriby is my club and it means so much to me.
"I've been here since 2000 and to see the work Les does 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it was right for me to stay. As soon as I said I was staying, Gary Bradshaw and Chris Bolder followed suit and so did the rest.
"That was a good sign of things to come for this squad and it has been the secret of our success this season.
"We want to win the league for Les and the die-hard fans who support us home and away every week. We know who they are."
Following Anderson's departure weeks into the 2011-12 season, Hare appointed Billy Heath as his replacement.
Since then, the club has gone from strength to strength after receiving financial help from Hull City owner Assem Allam.
Consolidation was the priority last season but those goals were reset ahead of this campaign.
Foot recalls a brief conversation with Hare and Heath days before the start of the season.
When he asked what the plans were for the campaign ahead, the response was the same from both men – "We want to win it."
Foot added: "I believed them when they said it. That was the first day of pre-season training and I knew how ambitious they both were.
"We have been top of the league since October and we have no intentions of handing that over at this stage of the season.
"We just have to go out and do what we have been doing all season long.
"We don't need to know how Hednesford are doing because we know if we beat Ashton, it will be enough to win the title."
Ferriby and Hednesford are locked on 90 points going into the final game of the season.
Ferriby's goal difference is eight better than their rivals so a win will be enough, unless Hednesford go goal crazy.
As captain, Foot will be speaking to his players prior to kick-off, keeping them calm and relaxed ahead of the biggest 90 minutes of their collective careers.
"This squad is a very laid-back group of players," Foot said.
"There is plenty of banter and fun and that will all continue as normal.
"I'll tell the players to leave nothing on the pitch after the 90 minutes.
"I'll also make sure when it's time to get focused, we're focused and that starts with the warm-up.
"Billy will say what he needs to say to make sure we get the win we need."
Foot admits lifting the title will be the highlight of his career, eclipsing the day he signed full-time with Scarborough.
He knows the players have a chance to form a bond with each other that will never be broken.
"There is already a strong bond within this squad," Foot said.
"With the ground restrictions we have, the Conference North is probably the highest we can go.
"If we win promotion, it will be a very proud moment for all of us.
"There will be a bond between us forever and I'll be reminding them of that."
