ON Saturday they chanted: "We're going down, we're having a laugh". It was a bravura performance from fans who deserved so much better.

Shortly afterwards, York City crashed out of the Football League leaving the faithful sick and stunned.

How could it happen, in this of all seasons? This was the year supporters rewrote the club's history. All the team had to do was provide a happy ending.

They failed. Miserably.

Had City finished anywhere above the bottom two places, then champagne celebrations were in order. City's audacious survival merited as much.

With the referee about to blow the final whistle on its existence, the club scored a last gasp victory which even Roy of the Rovers would have considered melodramatic.

That was thanks to the fans. There are none better in the Football League - or the Conference.

Their tireless work kept the dream alive. Their cash, dropped gladly into a dozen buckets, kept the club going.

These fans first took over the club and then, in the most astonishing twist of all, secured Bootham Crescent. In the process they won the hearts of all in York, even those who had never attended a single football match.

The supporters have shown all the devotion, passion, grit and imagination that has been lacking on the pitch. That, more than the combined inexperience in boardroom and dugout, was what did for City.

Today we dwell briefly on the team's proud past. As soon as this season is over, the fight begins to regain league status.

When it comes to changing the squad, the manager must ask himself a simple question: which of them has earned the right to play in front of City's premier league fans?

Updated: 11:52 Monday, April 26, 2004