AHEAD of an important FA Trophy tie against Workington before Christmas, Witton manager Tony Sullivan asked his players to sit down in the dressing room.

He invited those who consider themselves to be a leader to stand up again.

“Only four of us did,” said John Shaw.

“The gaffer wanted us to take on that responsibility if we felt we were ready.

“Since then, we’ve not looked back.”

The clash with their league rivals that day ended 3-3, with Albion producing a performance that at that moment was their best since Sullivan left Cammell Laird to replace Anthony Sheehan in the dugout.

In the league, they had lost a club record 12 successive matches and ranked second-last in the table.

Before kick off at Stourbridge last weekend, Witton had won five of the next eight games and held title hopefuls Ilkeston to a draw on their own pitch.

They have climbed from the relegation zone as a reward, now is a distance of six points away.

At 28, Shaw is one of the oldest in a group he says is now united.

That was not the case when the defender arrived at Wincham Park from Marine back in October.

“When I walked into the changing room before my first game there were three or four groups – all separate,” he said.

“I didn’t like it, but the manager promised me he would change things inside a couple of weeks.

“If he didn’t, then he knew we were heading for trouble. His job depended on it.

“I didn’t expect a miracle, or for the situation to improve straightaway.

“But after playing for the same club for as long as I did previously, I didn’t expect to settle as well – or as quickly – as I have at Witton.

“There’s a simple explanation though; we’re all sticking together.

“I know that the lad next to me will run through a brick wall if it gets us a result.

“I might reach 80 minutes in a game and be struggling to get through, but I’m desperate not to let him down.”

It’s a mentality that earned Albion victories in head-to-head matches against Nantwich and Marine – both rivals in a race to avoid relegation – at Christmas.

A 3-0 reverse at Stourbridge was a setback, as was the weather preventing them from bouncing back at the first attempt against King’s Lynn last weekend.

Among their remaining opponents this month are two of the league’s top three teams; Buxton this Saturday, and Skelmersdale a fortnight later.

Shaw said: “We’re not a bad side.

“We’ve proved that by beating Buxton at their place and holding Ilkeston to a draw.

“If anything, we’ve played most poorly against the sides close to us in the table. That’s something we definitely need to improve on.

“We were upset after losing at Stourbridge because we didn’t want to let the manager down.”

Shaw, who has played at left back as well as in the centre of defence since staring to play his football in Northwich, says he keeps in mind that afternoon when he, quite literally, stood up to be counted.

He said: “If lads want to ask me for advice, then that proves they have faith in me.

“I’m happy with that.

“There are a lot of young players in this team, and maybe they weren’t strong enough to get through that difficult period without a bit of help.

“They don’t need to worry about that anymore.”