GETTING a crowd of 1,500 for the Boxing Day match at St George’s Lane harked back to the good old days at Worcester City.

To the times when the Faithful City had a team to be proud of and four-figure gates were commonplace.

City may be averaging well below that number this season but Monday’s match was a reminder that the fanbase does exist and they will turn out to support a successful side.

Which is precisely what Worcester have at the moment.

Prior to the Gloucester match, the queue for the social club bar was five-deep and there was barely an empty patch of carpet to squeeze on to.

There was a buzz of anticipation about the place that has been sorely lacking in recent seasons but is returning with each passing week.

Worcester might not have been at their best against Gloucester City but they battled back for a deserved 2-1 victory to make it six league games unbeaten.

Heading into 2012, Carl Heeley’s men have won half of their 22 Blue Square Bet North fixtures and are just one point adrift of the play-off places.

They are genuine contenders for a top-five finish, make no mistake about it.

At this stage of the season, the league table doesn’t lie. It’s a cliché, certainly, but a true reflection of progress nonetheless.

No doubt, someone somewhere will accuse me of getting carried away or raising the bar of expectation too high. But why not?

There is long-overdue success to celebrate on the pitch and who knows how much more of it they will have?

The club’s future is precarious to say the least with plenty riding on the meeting at Worcester City Council a week tomorrow when plans for a new ground at Nunnery Way will finally be seen. But let’s leave that for another day.

For the moment, why not talk up City’s chances? They are sixth on merit, have lost just once at home all season and, by most people’s reckoning, have one of the best teams in many years.

All this for a club that should have been relegated 18 months ago.

Boss Heeley has already heralded captain Kevin O’Connor and Tom Thorley as the finest central midfield partnership he has seen at the club.

Striker Mike Symons has scored 12 goals with five each for Simon Brown and Luke Corbett.

City can also devote themselves to the challenge.

There is no silverware to distract them following early exits in the FA Cup and Trophy and they are hardly going to sacrifice a possible shot at promotion for the Worcestershire Senior Cup.

Currently, the fixture list is also favourable with games evenly spaced and no weather-inflicted backlog to stretch the 18-man squad to which injuries have been kind, with midfielder Rob Elvins (shoulder) their only concern at present.

To be in a position where the play-offs are a realistic possibility is remarkable and, even if they don’t achieve it, they’ll enjoy trying.