IT’S hard not to be impressed by the Houdini-like feat of escapology performed by Wycombe Wanderers earlier this month.

Before that last game the club’s fate seemed all but certain, and many had already written off the Blues’ chances of League 2 survival. But despite a distinctly rocky season, the players went out guns blazing in their closing match, scoring a vital 3-0 win over Torquay.

That last gasp of determination, of course, had a helping hand – fortune was certainly smiling on the Blues last Saturday, with the outcome of other matches securing their against-the-odds escape from relegation, which is no doubt set to go down in club lore.

The incredible support of the fans in that last match also deserves a special mention, of course. While many have given Wanderers a hard time themselves over recent lacklustre results, you have only to look at the great pictures our photographer, Anita Ross-Marshall, captured  to see the passion the final result prompted.

They paint a scene filled with drama, nail-biting tension and utter, euphoric joy and relief when news of Wanderers’ survival emerged. Match attendances have been waning for years but it is clear the side still has a great core of ardent, impassioned supporters who care deeply about their club’s fate.

We certainly hope the fans enjoy a far less heart-stopping ride next season and get to see their club fly far higher in the league than they have this season. But while we are all breathing a sigh of relief at the final result, we mustn’t forget the tortuous path that led the club there. The performances this year have been pretty lacking at times, and we all hope that last minute snatch from the jaws of defeat will prompt some serious soul searching for the team ahead of next season

Non-league status would have been a disaster on every front, and a massive blow to the town. The better our football club does, the better for all of us – whether we are talking about the local economy or simply the pride and status of High Wycombe.

And, of course, relegation would have been the worst imaginable present for the birthday of Monty Seymour. Monty, who has been life president of Wycombe Wanderers since 1967, turned 100 last weekend, and we are thrilled he has been spared seeing his beloved club fall into the doldrums. He has been a part of its victories and defeats for nearly half a century.

Among the golden moments he has presided over are the club’s rise into the Football League in 1993 during Martin O’Neill’s legendary spell at WWFC, before immediately winning promotion to what’s now League 1 the following year. And then there was that landmark FA Cup semi against Liverpool in 2001 – the match may have ended in defeat but it was the fact that Wanderers got there so impressively in the first place that we remember now.

It would have been a cruel birthday present for Monty, a true legend of the town, to see the club that has been capable of hitting such heights falter, and while wishing him many happy returns, we can only hope that WWFC never finds itself in such a grim position again.