But Monday's 2-1 success at Carlton Town coincided with a 5-1 win for drop rivals Kidsgrove Athletic, so even the optimistic Tulips fan could be forgiven for thinking they are doomed.

But Biley, who saw his first win in his latest spell at Spalding, is not prepared to even contemplate throwing in the towel on their survival hopes.

Asked if he was downbeat on hearing Kidsgrove had thrashed Alsager, Biley said: "Not at all.

"If anything I would turn it around and say Kidsgrove might have thought they had killed us off with a 5-1 win, so to hear we had won too would have left them gutted."

The Tulips' three points in Nottinghamshire came against the backdrop of a squad struggling to even fill the subs' bench.

Ian Fovargue, Mickey Stones, Ben Garrick, Gary Pawson, Sam Wadieh and Paul Musznyai were all out, so new midfielder Stuart Goosey, who played for Whitworths in the morning, had to fill a gap on the bench.

Danny Jezeph's first goal for the club – in only his second appearance – and a Luke Forbes strike put the Tulips 2-0 up at the break.

A harsh penalty award against Andy Stanhope gave Carlton the sniff they needed to get back into the match at 2-1, but the Tulips remained resilient.

Biley said: "That win has given us the impetus we need to go on and do even better.

"It didn't come as a fluke.