Bedford Town boss Lee Bircham: This season has been a freak

​Add into the mix the fact that the club were installing a new 3G surface, meaning they’d have to play their home games elsewhere for the first few weeks of the season, and the odds were stacked against the Eagles for many of their early games.

Indeed, two wins from their first eight matches saw them settle into an early mid-table slot, before four wins on the bounce propelled them higher and they’ve since remained in and around the top five, being top of the table with nine games to play but with the sides below them having games in hand.

All of that has left their boss Lee Bircham feeling proud but somewhat astounded given the resources at his and the club’s disposal, let alone off-field challenges they’ve had to face as well.

"It’s been a freak season, to be honest,” he said.

"We had a brilliant promotion last year but then the pitch took until October to be ready, so we basically had to play our first eight or nine games away from home, with the designated home games being at places like Hitchin and Biggleswade.

"Then we had the tragedy of Leon Lobjoit losing his baby girl which affected everyone at the club.

"Things have since settled down and our form has, by and large, been superb, although now there is all the talk of the merger with Real Bedford being on the table so that’s proving another distraction at the moment.

"The simple fact is that our budget is comfortably in the bottom three in the league, so we know our place and we knew that success this year would be finishing fifth from bottom and staying up.

"That’s not being unambitious – more often than not the league table plays out pretty much according to the finances, with a few anomalies here and there, which certainly applies to us this year.”

Perhaps unusually for a team at the top end of the table, the Eagles are feeling little pressure as the season progresses.

With expectations having already been exceeded, attention has purely been on enjoying their football and giving their fanbase a season to remember.

Bircham said: “Even up to a couple of weeks ago, we weren’t looking at what the teams at the top end were doing, it was about how many points those at the bottom were getting until we knew we were safe.

"The points needed to stay up is looking like it’ll be around the 50 mark this year, but now we’ve passed that I’m confident we’ll at least be at step three next season!

"That might sound strange given we are top of the league at this moment in time, but that’s the reality of it and now we will just see where things take us.

"We’ve had some defeats here and there, sometimes heavy, but have bounced back well and there’s never any pressure on us as underdogs, which the players seem to revel in.

"Biggleswade Town were champions of the level below last year and yet they’re bottom of the table and we’re at the top, I’m guessing on not dissimilar budgets, so that just shows you how crazy it’s been.

"It would be almost impossible to replicate this season – it’s hard to keep players happy when the wages are lower and they can go elsewhere, often in the league below, and earn more, so player turnover is high and it would be a struggle to get near the play-offs every year with our resources.”

The new 3G surface at The Eyrie has proved beneficial to the club on several levels, both on a practical sense when it comes to football and in a financial sense given its wide usage, including by Biggleswade FC who continue to ground-share.

Bircham added: “In the summer, and for the first few weeks, all the pitches are in great shape but eventually the grass ones start to cut up and make it harder to play on, whereas we’ve now got a great surface all year round.

"It was hard at the start as nowhere felt like home but we got through it.”

A big talking point in Bedford currently is the proposed merger between the Eagles and Real Bedford, who are looking hot favourites for promotion from the level below which could in turn mean the clubs will be in the same division next season if Bedford Town don’t themselves go up.

There are differing opinions among fans as to whether the merger would be a good idea, but Bircham is all for it.

He said: “It’s got my total backing. Our owner is the best I’ve ever worked with, as are the rest of the board, but there’s no way they could sustain things financially if we wanted to progress.

"Real Bedford have the finances. With their resources they’ll overtake us and go much higher, which risks us losing a lot of spectators other than our core fanbase as people will want to watch the best team.

"That could then see Town slip through and risk drifting away. Core fans will stay but it’s not fair for one man to fund it. I wouldn’t see myself being part of the next stage but if they want me I’d stay. There’s still so many things to be decided but I can see any merged club pushing right through to the Football League.

"In the meantime, we’re just enjoying the season we’re having and what will be, will be.”