Macclesfield Town have another big game in their league season coming up - and John Askey couldn't be happier about it.
After witnessing years of Football League action, in which avoiding relegation was rightly considered a successful year's work, his team are currently challenging at the right end of the Conference table. Quite how they've done it with their threadbare resources remains something of a mystery.
But his collection of cut-price bargains, non-contract players and freebies have clicked brilliantly and Macc are one of the most entertaining, spirited and solid units in the division.
With Macc riding high in fifth, Askey and Efe Sodje have delivered something that, along with any spending power, has been in short supply at the Moss Rose recently - hope.
Making a mockery of the relegation fodder tag they were saddled with in pre-season they've exceeded all expectations in the first half of the campaign, meaning tomorrow's match has towering significance.
There's plenty at stake when second-placed Woking visit. It's a chance to get back on track after Saturday's 3-1 loss at Barnet. A second draw against the Cards - they saw out a goalless draw in Surrey last August - would extend their unbeaten run at home to 13 games and lay down a marker in their bid to be in the top five come April.
Those aims may have been unthinkable, laughable even, in the discontentment of last summer but the Silkmen supporters are now daring to dream.
That's not to say it'll be a case of merely turning up tomorrow, despite having only shipped half a dozen goals in those 12 home matches. Woking recently lost another of their big play-off clashes, at Grimsby Town, but have this week overtaken the Mariners with wins over Braintree and Altrincham.
"Woking should be another good game, said the Macc manager. "It's nice to be involved in a game where you're trying to win something, not just the game - you're trying to get promoted and it's a nice feeling to have.
"We've not had it for years, to be excited about a game is great and the Woking game will be the same, we'll be playing them knowing the importance of it and hopefully we can get a decent result. It's nice to be in this position and to have that feeling again.
"We'll concentrate on ourselves and getting ourselves up for the game, and I'm sure we will be because we want to keep our home form going.
"Everybody's excited about the game and looking forward to it, it's a shame we couldn't give them something to take home from Barnet. But that's football, hopefully we'll give them a lot to shout about in the coming weeks."
