GREAT HARWOOD boss Denis Underwood has paid his players a glowing tribute on the eve of their do-or-die relegation scrap at Congleton.

The Reds were written off as certainties for the drop when Underwood took over from Ian McGarry back in January.

But an amazing fightback which has yielded 24 points from their last 12 games means a win tomorrow would see Harwood safe and out of the bottom two.

"If someone had said 10 games ago that we had to win our last game to stay up nobody would have believed them," said Underwood. "The lads have been absolutlely brilliant.

"I thought I had a good set of lads at Clitheroe but the spirit in the team here is just unbelievable.

"We lost our first six games when I took over but I kept saying to them it would only be a matter of time before we turned the corner. That's exactly what we've done." Whitley Bay's win at Farsley on Wednesday night might have plunged the Reds back into the bottom two.

But such is the confidence in the Harwood dressing room at the moment that Underwood is adamant they can win at Booth Street to overhaul fourth-bottom Congleton who they trail by a point.

"We'll be going for it like we have been doing in our last few games but we've got to be sensible about it.

"There's no point going silly from the start and finding ourselves 2-0 down after 20 minutes.

"I'd much rather it was 0-0 with 30 minutes left so we can can have a real go at them in that last half hour." Physio Shaun Reilly has also come in for special praise off Underwood after getting the club's walking wounded fit for battle during the relegation run-in.

The Harwood boss will have a full squad to pick from tomorrow.

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