Geoff Butler admits he could end up with egg on his face if Weymouth are relegated from the Dr Martens Premier Division.
Having set his side a safety target of 50 points, the manager saw them reach it with a 1-1 draw at Bath City yesterday.
But despite getting to the half-century mark, the Terras still need to win one of their last two games against Sussex duo Hastings United and Crawley Town to guarantee survival.
“I always said 50 points would be enough,” he explained. “I’ve never known a side go down with that many points and I didn’t think it would happen this year.
“A couple of weeks ago we were on 42 with games coming up against Welling, Hednesford, Dover and Bath. If someone had offered me the eight points from that lot, I would have taken them and put my house on the fact that 50 would be enough.
“But here we are, eight points later and we’re still not safe and I suppose it proves the other thing I’ve been saying which is that everyone is capable of beating each other else in this league.”
Having been reduced to ten men after just 17 minutes when Chris Honor was dismissed for using an elbow, City took the lead on 27 minutes through Matthew Coupe.
The Terras then had to wait until the 73 minute for their equaliser, which came from top scorer, Lee Phillips.
“The pitch wasn’t the best,” said Butler, “and we didn’t help ourselves by giving away a soft goal. But in the end only one team was going to win and I thought we were unlucky not to come away with all three points.
“Saturday’s home game against Hastings United is now massive for both sides and it’s one we simply have to win. Three points will see the job done and that’s all we’ll be concentrating on.
“There’s a long way to go in this relegation battle and I’m convinced it will go down to the wire. A lot of the bottom sides still have to play each other and that will make things very interesting.
“Hastings are one team who have to win both their remaining matches to stand a chance of staying up and even that might not prove to be enough for them. But one thing’s for certain, they’ll be coming here battling and scrapping for their lives.”
He added: “Nothing has gone right for us this season. From the finances to refereeing decisions, it’s been a constant uphill battle. There’s no reason to think that will change now and it looks like that’s the way it’s going to be right to the very end.”
