Harrogate Town secretary Alan Williams said he was delighted that his side's reprieve from relegation will stand.

The club will now stay in Blue Square North after Northwich Victoria lost their appeal against expulsion.

Williams told BBC Radio York: "We were always confident but we set out our plan to stay in the league irrespective of the appeal.

"However, it is always in the back of your mind because some people can read rules differently."

He added: "We were hoping that common sense would prevail and the powers that be would deal with it and everything would go for us."

The appeal board of the FA Sanction and Registrations Committee unanimously decided to dismiss Northwich's appeal.

We were too stringent on the budget - we were too tight Alan Williams

The Cheshire club appealed on the grounds that the league 'misinterpreted and/or failed to comply with the rules and regulations relevant to its decision and/or came to a decision to which no reasonable body could have come and that the penalty, award or sanction imposed was excessive in the circumstances'.

Williams said Harrogate Town would now work to ensure they would not be threatened with relegation next season.

"We've taken steps now. We're going to be competitive next season. We're going to aim for the top. The budget's been set for us to do that.

"The players we're bringing in are of the calibre that are capable of doing that.

"We realised last year that we did make a few mistakes. We were too stringent on the budget - we were too tight.

"But in mitigation, we have a duty to the club, the league and the fans.

"We had a duty of care to the sponsor's money. We had to look after it and ensure we were here at the end of the year.

"That we did, and hopefully we've been vindicated in being asked to come back into the league."

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