GUISELEY’s dramatic last-game escape from relegation has given them extra time to prepare for the new National League campaign.

In the previous five years they had been involved in the end of season promotion play-offs in National League North. That meant they didn’t know which league they would be playing in until the middle of May.

It is a point their chairman Phil Rogerson has come to appreciate as the euphoria of the 4-3 win over Torquay, which preserved their National League status, has been replaced by the realisation of the task that lies ahead.

The Nethermoor club will again be one of the minnows battling to survive in the top tier of non-league football.

Rogerson is realistic about the challenge facing Guiseley. He said: “It is a big help knowing which league we will be playing in at this point. In the past five years we have always been playing catch up because of the delay caused by the play-offs.

“We have our places and there are a number of projects we can get on with. The first is the Nethermoor pitch. Work will be done to bring the surface back to the tip-top level our players enjoy.

“Around the ground there will be some work going on to create a new catering block at the away end of the ground and there will be other improvements taking place too.

“Our manager Mark Bower will be taking a look at the playing squad and assessing what he can do to strengthen where he can. Mind you, it is not easy.

“There are quite few big clubs who have come out of the Football League and operate full time with far bigger budgets than us.

“It is extremely hard to compete when, for example, the two relegated clubs York and Dagenham & Redbridge will receive big parachute payments.

“In essence there are two leagues going on in the National League. The top ten which is made up largely of the full-time clubs, and then in the bottom half come the part-timers.”

Guiseley have made huge strides both on and off the field in recent years and their fan base has grown too. Their average gate rose to 950 in the 2015-16 season, with 1,900 watching the win over Torquay and over 2,000 attending the 2-2 home draw with Grimsby.

“Our gates have risen over each of the past five seasons and that has been due to a lot of hard work in terms of social media, radio and the press to raise the profile of the club,” said Rogerson.

“We are pleased with the progress we have made but we want to do more because we believe we have a good product and people enjoy the experience of a trip to Nethermoor.

“One area where we would like to do better is in attracting visiting fans. Torquay brought 300 and Grimsby had a huge following, but many of the clubs have brought only a handful of supporters.

"More away supporters would help us push the average past the 1,000 mark where we would like it to be.”

Perhaps the biggest decision for Guiseley in the near future is whether they see themselves climbing still higher, or whether they believe they have reached the height of their ambitions and will be content to keep scrapping for National League survival.

Rogerson concedes: “You don’t want to keep looking down because it is extremely tough battling to keep out of the bottom four as we found this season.

“However, to compete at the top end you would have to consider going full time. That isn’t something that could be done easily and certainly we do not have the facilities to be able to do that.

“We still have to scratch around and borrow school pitches to train on and there are so many other aspects that have to be taken into consideration. It isn’t simply about paying wages to players, it is so much more.

“We know what we are up against, but Mark Bower and the players have done a good job this year and we believe we can continue to compete and show that we belong in the National League.”