LIFELONG Harriers fans Adam Matthews reflects the club's relegation to the National North.

EVEN though I'm not sure relegation has quite sunk in yet, there are reminders everywhere.

Opening the paper on Monday morning to see an 'R' imprinted next to our name in the table.

Yes, this demotion was inevitable but until it actually happens, you still think there might be a chance of escape.

I don't think it will truly sink in until we see next season's fixture list with Chorley and Curzon Ashton on it rather than Grimsby and Tranmere.

Rod Brown said last summer that it would be an achievement for Harriers to avoid relegation this season. Supporters took his comment with a pinch of salt. They should have listened more intently.

So what has gone wrong? Only three years ago we were on the cusp of the Football League. A full house against Stockport, missing out on promotion by the finest of margins, yet since we have lurched from one off-field crisis to another, culminating in relegation.

Being a Harriers fan at the minute feels like playing Football Manager for 130 years and forgetting to hit the save button. We must be the only non-league team in history to draw a Premiership side in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, yet have to ruthlessly cut the budget only months later.

It is difficult not to dwell on the past, but it is pointless. Those responsible for the club's downfall, those at the helm during this dire period of mis-management have moved on and left us in this position.

Better to be relegated than liquidated, which we're told was a real possibility last year.

We have been dealt a poor hand and now must make the best of what we have.

But was survival possible this season? Even with all the off-field upheaval? I believe so. We wasted three months with Dave Hockaday.

His erratic tactical style and constant chopping and changing of loan players did us no favours. We have fared much better under Colin Gordon, the owner, CEO, interim manager.

I think it's fair to say that without him and the rest of his off-field team, who have put in tireless work this season, there may not have been a club.

We have a vision for the future, but will it work in the short term? Most fans are wary of 'The Kidderminster Harriers way', which his tika-taka attacking brand of football has been named, might not work in the hustle and bustle of part-time Conference North.

Supporters have been patient. Hats off to them. The crowds have been steady. Even a quick glance of last Saturday's attendances show us above clubs who have recently been in the Football League such as Aldershot and Macclesfield.

People realise it is not the current incumbents who are responsible for our downfall. But they are not used to watching a losing side, and so they shouldn't be.

A club of Harriers' size should at least be competing in the upper echelons of non-league and not meandering towards the regional divisions. We will also lose out on away supporters; the following from Gainsborough Trinity on a Tuesday night will look a lot different to 1,000 from Wrexham.

Colin has put plans in place, he has made us sustainable for the future, but he has a massive decision to make.

The next managerial appointment is one of the most important in the club's history. This man will be tasked with Harriers' first season, or seasons, outside of the top-flight of non-league football for 33 years.

It is my belief that we need someone who has conquered the league before, knows the style of play in Step 2 and has all the ingredients to succeed on our shoestring budget.

It is correct of us not to think that we can sail straight back up, but there is no reason to believe we can't compete and the latter third of this season has shown that.

Someone once said to me that the Conference is like a motorway service station; lots of very different people, going in very different directions, sharing the same area for a short space of time, paying lots of money to be there and not particularly enjoying it. I think the challenge for Kidderminster Harriers now is to find how to reach fifth gear instead of breaking down before the slip road.