IS the able, affable, approachable and admirable Gary Mills fighting a losing battle as he nears the run-in to what could be a momentous climax to his so far brief tenure as York City manager? I honestly hope not.

Before the last two home matches this past week against Eastbourne and Mansfield in the Blue Square Bet Premier, manager Mills urged the City faithful to swell the Bootham Crescent crowd to beyond 3,000 for each game.

You could not argue with the logic of the City boss, whose arrival at the Crescent in October as Martin Foyle’s replacement has sparked a rousing renaissance in the fortunes of the Minstermen.

Until Mills swapped Tamworth for York, City’s ship was listing with all hope of success evaporating quicker than an ice cube on a hot plate.

But with painstaking attention to not just a plan ‘A’, but ‘B’ and ‘C’ – and no doubt several others to boot when the situation calls for it – Mills has re-shaped the Minstermen to potential play-off contenders.

That ascent has been based on a home record superseded this season only by treble-chasing Premier League titans Manchester United and their Blue Square Bet Premier counterparts Crawley Town.

The 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Mansfield was City’s eighth consecutive conquest on home turf.

As they have whittled away the advantage of others, now with six of the remaining ten games to play at fortress Bootham Crescent, the play-offs are a logical and deserved conclusion to the campaign.

But while Mills’ on-field aspirations remain upbeat, on the terraces and in the seats his hopes have gone unrealised.

Neither aforementioned game attracted a cherished 3,000-plus attendance. And when subtracting the respective number of away fans from Eastbourne and Mansfield, the two fixtures drew a combined total of just 4,464 of the City faithful.

Given a few exceptions of those fans, who for one genuine reason or another were unable to make the pilgrimage a week ago, or on Tuesday night, those souls are precisely the City faithful, if truth be told.

They are the hardcore. They are the constant corps. They are the lifeblood at the pounding heart of the club’s support and, even those who week in and week out might moan, deserve to be saluted for turning out through the thick and the more frequently anorexic.

This column is not addressed to them. This column is aimed at those of the 5,000-plus who headed to Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok Stadium for the FA Cup third round tie and to those 11,000- strong who made it to Wembley last year for the play-off final.

Surely following your local team, your only professional football club, has to comprise more than just a day or two out at a top-flight stadium.

Seeing how the other half lives is always a valuable exercise, but should unquestionably strengthen the resolve to back your own club’s battle to attain superior status.

Surely supporting your city team has to be about cold-cramped Tuesday nights and withering weekends when victory might hinge on a sliver of skill or an opponents’ mistake rather than an occasional jaunt to a club you are only ever likely to meet because of what spheres are plucked out from what resembles a plastic chamber-pot.

We all acknowledge how times are financially hard. Watching the Minstermen regularly is not exactly cheap, nor has it been any cheaper since they tumbled out of the Football League despite the dip in the standard of fare. But under Mills the Minstermen are on the way up and if City were to achieve the sorely-missed pastures of Football League you sense the current City leader would keep them there.

There is a purpose and spirit and depth to this squad, who have latched on to the manager’s philosophy of giving the maximum and who know how to squeeze out the most, especially at home.

Hopes of regaining that prized Football League place are authentic.

And they would be greatly aided if the home support was closer to the 3,000 rather than 2,000 mark.

There is a lot of guff about the crowd being the 12th man, but there is also a lot of truth in it. As this term approaches its final six weeks a significant upsurge in Crescent support could afford City a 13th, 14th or 15th man. The address – York City FC, Bootham Crescent, YO30 7AQ.