No-one could fail to be impressed by the way Wycombe Wanderers have managed to achieve so much in the last year, both on and off the field. With one of the smallest squads in the entire league, manager Gareth Ainsworth has somehow contrived to confound the pundits and with three games to go this season, the Blues are still in the automatic promotion spots. I am sure many other Wanderers fans will remember the pre-season predictions of who would be promoted or relegated. Given the last-minute escape from the drop last May, the majority named Wanderers as prime candidates for relegation. The combination of Ainsworth’s clear genius for putting together a team that will go the extra mile for him and each other, some very skilful loan acquisitions and a great goalkeeper have kept the team in the automatic promotion spots for the majority of the season, and with the chequered flag in sight we are still there, thanks to the nail-biting victory against Exeter on Tuesday night that broke the midweek match jinx and a club points record. Whatever happens now the season will have been a resounding success. To go from down and out to promotion candidates on a budget that wouldn’t pay a Premiership player’s tax bill is miraculous. And heaven only knows how the physio and fitness team have managed to get a full squad on the pitch every week.

And off the field, the current Trust and its chairman have really achieved the impossible and kept the club afloat in the most challenging of financial circumstances. Many other clubs in similar situations have crumbled and tumbled down the leagues into oblivion.

Obviously the finances are now crucial and the fan-owned club is going out to the community it has served so well to try to get the necessary investment that will keep it going. In the week that a Blues fan raised £3,000 for the club by jumping out of an aeroplane, it launched its Enterprise Investment Scheme, set up to fulfil the ambitions of ‘survival, security and then success.’ It is hoped to raise from small investors £2m over five years, thereby increasing the community ownership and securing its future.

Check out the club’s website for more information.